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Ye Café
Ye Café
Shanghai, China
Project Featured on Aug 03, 2025
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Ye Café
Shanghai, China
Project Featured on Aug 03, 2025
Firm
STATUS
Built
YEAR
2022
SIZE
0 sqft - 1000 sqft
BUDGET
$10K - 50K
Tucked away in a grove of camphor trees along the banks of the Huangpu River, Shanghai, Ye Café 野咖啡 (lit. Wild Café) emerges as an architectural ode to nature. Situated within a tranquil woodland, the site once hosted only a solitary sculpture. Now, with the addition of Ye Café, the space has been transformed, inviting leisure and vibrant activity into the forest’s embrace. Designed by FG Studio (based in Shanghai), the café takes the form of a minimalist glass box, where nature takes center stage. Through its refined use of materials and harmonious integration with the landscape, the design creates a delicate balance between elegance, warmth, and the untamed beauty of its setting.
1. Form: Transparency in Dialogue with Nature
Ye Café’s architectural language is defined by expansive glass walls and crisp white framing, creating an open interface with the natural world. From the forest path, the building appears ethereal, blending into the woodland. Inside, the glass frames nature’s scenery into dynamic vignettes, allowing visitors to feel both sheltered and immersed. Over time, as creeping vines climb the structure’s exterior, the café gradually dissolves into its camphor-lined surroundings, offering a living tableau of nature and architecture intertwined.
In a deliberate effort to preserve the site’s original ecology, FG Studio avoided cutting down any trees. Where the building and nature converge, glass partitions ingeniously wrap around tree trunks, transforming them into verdant interior courtyards. This thoughtful approach erases the divide between inside and out, fostering a seamless relationship with the forest.
Outside, a winding wooden boardwalk snakes through the trees, inviting visitors to explore the woodland at a slower pace. From every angle, the building’s transparency reveals shifting plays of light and shadow, turning Ye Café into more than just a functional space—it becomes a bridge connecting people to the natural world.
2. Materials: Subtle, Local, and Textured
The choice of materials at Ye Café reflects a restrained yet thoughtful approach, where simplicity meets locality. Glass and metal frameworks evoke lightness and transparency, while raw shipping container panels introduce a rugged, tactile contrast. Inside, furniture crafted from multilayered wood panels imbues the space with warmth, combining clean lines with an inviting texture. Particularly striking are the bamboo benches—unassuming yet rich with regional character—that offer a tangible connection to the natural world.
On one side of the café, corrugated metal cladding replaces glass walls, creating a diffused interplay of light and shadow that evokes a calming, meditative atmosphere. This subtle choreography of sunlight throughout the day enlivens the space, infusing it with gentle rhythms of the forest.
3. Seasons: A Café for All Weathers
Ye Café is a place designed to celebrate the shifting moods of the seasons. In early spring, the sound of raindrops on leaves and ripples across the river form a symphony, perfectly complemented by the aroma of freshly brewed coffee. Summer brings dappled sunlight dancing on the glass walls, while autumn blankets the boardwalk in a layer of fallen leaves, adding to the serene ambiance. In winter, mist wraps around the café, rendering the glass structure weightless, as if it were hovering between the trees.
The café's design extends even to the ground itself, with a perforated metal floor that allows the earthy humidity to permeate the interior. Here, guests may lose themselves in a book at the central communal table or simply sit in quiet contemplation on a bamboo bench, letting the space’s inherent calm wash over them.
4. The Future: A Space for Endless Possibilities
Ye Café is more than a quiet retreat; it’s a platform for future creativity and connection. The surrounding corridors lend themselves to intimate art exhibitions or cultural events, offering visitors new layers of experience. The forest itself becomes a stage for outdoor lectures, cozy bonfire concerts, or community gatherings.
Looking ahead, Ye Café envisions itself as a dynamic, evolving system—an open canvas for ideas and interactions. Over time, it will continue to integrate with its natural and social surroundings, becoming not just a destination, but a source of inspiration and renewal.
1. Form: Transparency in Dialogue with Nature
Ye Café’s architectural language is defined by expansive glass walls and crisp white framing, creating an open interface with the natural world. From the forest path, the building appears ethereal, blending into the woodland. Inside, the glass frames nature’s scenery into dynamic vignettes, allowing visitors to feel both sheltered and immersed. Over time, as creeping vines climb the structure’s exterior, the café gradually dissolves into its camphor-lined surroundings, offering a living tableau of nature and architecture intertwined.
In a deliberate effort to preserve the site’s original ecology, FG Studio avoided cutting down any trees. Where the building and nature converge, glass partitions ingeniously wrap around tree trunks, transforming them into verdant interior courtyards. This thoughtful approach erases the divide between inside and out, fostering a seamless relationship with the forest.
Outside, a winding wooden boardwalk snakes through the trees, inviting visitors to explore the woodland at a slower pace. From every angle, the building’s transparency reveals shifting plays of light and shadow, turning Ye Café into more than just a functional space—it becomes a bridge connecting people to the natural world.
2. Materials: Subtle, Local, and Textured
The choice of materials at Ye Café reflects a restrained yet thoughtful approach, where simplicity meets locality. Glass and metal frameworks evoke lightness and transparency, while raw shipping container panels introduce a rugged, tactile contrast. Inside, furniture crafted from multilayered wood panels imbues the space with warmth, combining clean lines with an inviting texture. Particularly striking are the bamboo benches—unassuming yet rich with regional character—that offer a tangible connection to the natural world.
On one side of the café, corrugated metal cladding replaces glass walls, creating a diffused interplay of light and shadow that evokes a calming, meditative atmosphere. This subtle choreography of sunlight throughout the day enlivens the space, infusing it with gentle rhythms of the forest.
3. Seasons: A Café for All Weathers
Ye Café is a place designed to celebrate the shifting moods of the seasons. In early spring, the sound of raindrops on leaves and ripples across the river form a symphony, perfectly complemented by the aroma of freshly brewed coffee. Summer brings dappled sunlight dancing on the glass walls, while autumn blankets the boardwalk in a layer of fallen leaves, adding to the serene ambiance. In winter, mist wraps around the café, rendering the glass structure weightless, as if it were hovering between the trees.
The café's design extends even to the ground itself, with a perforated metal floor that allows the earthy humidity to permeate the interior. Here, guests may lose themselves in a book at the central communal table or simply sit in quiet contemplation on a bamboo bench, letting the space’s inherent calm wash over them.
4. The Future: A Space for Endless Possibilities
Ye Café is more than a quiet retreat; it’s a platform for future creativity and connection. The surrounding corridors lend themselves to intimate art exhibitions or cultural events, offering visitors new layers of experience. The forest itself becomes a stage for outdoor lectures, cozy bonfire concerts, or community gatherings.
Looking ahead, Ye Café envisions itself as a dynamic, evolving system—an open canvas for ideas and interactions. Over time, it will continue to integrate with its natural and social surroundings, becoming not just a destination, but a source of inspiration and renewal.
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