the Coffee Shed of Luxun Park

Shanghai, China

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the Coffee Shed of Luxun Park

Shanghai, China

Firm

SHISUO DESIGN OFFICE

Type

Hospitality + Sport › Restaurant

STATUS

Built

YEAR

2024

SIZE

1000 sqft - 3000 sqft

BUDGET

$100K - 500K

Urbanization has long been seen as a process that deviates from nature. In such process, people in cities gradually drift away from nature. For a long time, the cost of acquiring buildings has inevitably involved burying water bodies, cutting down trees, or encroaching on fields until people have become numb. However, humans themselves originate from nature, and the desire to coexist with nature is instinctual. The Coffee Shed of Luxun Park reflects our contemplation on the dichotomy between artificial and natural—how man-made structures, as buildings, can coexist, symbiotically create with nature.

The Coffee Shed is considered as an architectural insertion. The site is very challenging——An existing canopy with glass roof attached to the main building cannot be removed, and five plane trees are randomly scattered on the site. It is called Coffee Shed because it needs to meet the complex functional requirements of the owner—first, as a coffee space close to the Marriage Registration Office; second, it needs to connect the neighbourhood and the Luxun Park, providing a public crossing path for the citizens; finally, it builds an outdoor sheltered multifunctional activity space for people to rest, shelter from rain, and enjoy the distant views.

The building is imagined as a shelter that connects the indoors and outdoors, like an abstract forest growing in a natural environment formed by five plane trees. After positioning the existing trees, the column positions were calculated to ensure that the foundation would not harm the tree roots and that the steel beams would not conflict with the branches, without the need to cut The slender and straight steel columns contrast with the sturdy and curved tree trunks, with the branches spreading freely above the roof.

The weathering steel roof structure serves as a unified design language that shapes both the indoor and outdoor spaces. Indoors, the form of the roof is not driven by visual appeal but rather seeks potential equipment space within the triangular cavity between the new structure and the original canopy.

Outdoors, as the roof folds and gradually descends, it directs people's gaze towards the distant landscape. The red terrazzo floor resembles a floating raft, serving as a platform for activities. The entrance to the interior is deliberately hidden within the "forest". Below the roof lies a relative nature, while above is the original scenery, with glimpses of each other through openings in the roof, establishing connections of each.

We have reason to believe that the Coffee Shed of Luxun Park offers an opportunity to deepen the relationship between human and nature. Just as Mies van der Rohe said, “We should attempt to bring nature, houses, and human beings together in a higher unity”.

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the Coffee Shed of Luxun Park

Shanghai, China

the Coffee Shed of Luxun Park

Shanghai, China

Product Spec Sheet

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