STUDI PRESEDEN

ACE Cafe 751 / dEEP Architects

Architects: dEEP Architects

Location: Beijing, China
Architect In Charge: LI Daode
Area: 600.0 sqm
Year: 2013
Photographs: Courtesy of dEEP
 From the architect. ACE Cafe is a famous london R&B themed restaurant.
For its first branch in China, the original 751 train station within the 798 art zone
was chosen to be renovated into its first face. Apart from the heavy metal theme,
we hope to revitalize the cold building through digital technology and mechanic
engineering techniques, to fill the atmosphere with breathing space and digital
charm, as well as to achive a long dreamt deformable architecture for architects.

Exploded Isometric

Maintaining the major structure of the 751 train station as much as we can, as well as the
current industrial style, we reconstructed the north facade of the building with operable windows of
glass, using the same segmentation as the one in ACE london. As for the west facade, in
consideration of occasional car entrance during function times, we designed a deformable metal
facade controlled by the bar. When the metal wall is completely open, it turns a flat wall into a complex
metal structure like a blooming metal flower, in memory of the punk and R&B culture.

The same we applied on the interior wall behind the bar, rise from a flat metal wall, bloom,
and then return to its initial stage, like the breathing of a vivid life. All of the deformation are achived by
the gears behind. Inspirated by the old steam locomotive right by the site, it also illustrates our
understanding of the punk culture.
 Based on the respect and protection of the existing building, no perminant architecture could
be added on site and thus, we use containers on the west side of the train station to assemble to
whole structure, and form a composite composed of cafe and car repair zoneon the first floor, platform
and office on the second floor. And the design matches the style of original train station.
Birdsong Cafe / Studio Eight Twentythree

Courtesy of Studio Eight Twentythree

Architects: Studio Eight Twentythree
Location: Bandra West, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Architects In Charge: Samir Raut, Amit Mayekar
Year: 2013
Photographs: Courtesy of Studio Eight Twentythree Graphics: Ka advertising
Execution Team: Ramchandra Kumavat, Rajdev Mahto, Shriram Morya, Manoj Wadhel, Ganesh
Kushwaha
Courtesy of Studio Eight Twentythree
From the architect. The first response when i was approached to design a cafe in a quiet and rich but
humble heritage village in the suburbs of bandra, was to make sure that the design reflects and
responds to the vocabulary of the existing surrounding precinct and speaks the same language as its
historic neighbours.

Restricting the palette to concrete and wood, was an important part of this discourse; wood; a
centuries old material and concrete not so modern, but a material for today, had a certain enigmatic
charm about them, i am vividly fascinated by the quality of both these materials to age in such an
elegant fashion and as they slowly start to speak of the stories of the place as it ages along with them
too.
Courtesy of Studio Eight Twentythree
With this thought the design process evolved accommodating a kitchen, a bakery and seating.

I wanted each element to have its own important place while still fitting in the larger design context,
the entrance arches were opened up onto the street, with a glass facade and double louvered shutters
on the outside. Simple wooden shuttered double doors with bevelled glass panes mark the entrance.
As you enter; you encounter the flooring which is a beautiful moss green shade of concrete, flanked by
the bakery counter made of poured natural coloured concrete in casts. Few of the walls were chiselled
and left as is to give the space a seemingly weathered look, as if this quaint cafe always belonged to
the neighbourhood and thus people coming here would not feel overwhelmed with its presence.
Simple but customised wooden tables, vitrines and old chairs and retro 1970s plastic switches on teak
wood bases quietly add to the this endeavour of completing the decor as if it always existed there. The
design also includes a small and cozy mezzanine constructed in old reclaimed teak wood for live
performances or maybe for a private chat aloof from the hustle bustle in the cafe below.
Courtesy of Studio Eight Twentythree
The lighting in the space is envisaged using simple incandescent bulbs with customised reclaimed
wood holders on dimmers. This are hung from a grid of hooks on the ceiling with the the wires
seemingly haphazardly hanging off them. These hooks boast of the ability also take up installations by
artists throughout the year thus keeping the space as dynamic as possible.

The menu for the cafe engulfs the back of the counter written with chalk on the blackboard painted
wall, the graphics in the cafe are all hand drawn, left as is. We expect them to be wiped, redrawn,
scratched and scrapped, even so just as the main signage for the space is hand painted, so as not
make them look precious , but more thoughtful and personal.
Creative Alliance Cafe / PI.KL Studio and Kroiz
Architecture

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Norscode
The Café at the Creative Alliance is the last piece of a 10-year redevelopment of the former Patterson
Theater into an urban arts center and community anchor. Budget constraints and the challenge of
actually fitting a commercial kitchen, bar and dining room into the remaining 1,300 sqf had delayed the
build-out of the space for almost a decade and a successful design relied on formal restraint and an
opportunistic attitude to all possibilities.
Architects: PI.KL Studio & Kroiz Architecture
Location: Baltimore, MD
Project Area: 1,300 sqf
Project Year: 2011
Photographs: Norscode
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Norscode
The spatial organization is based on the dining area formally coinciding with the concrete projection
room suspended above the main level of the original theater (from an era of flammable celluloid film).
The found surfaces, board-cast concrete resting on steel beams of the ceiling and the blackened brick
interior of the building facade, provided rich natural materiality. The logic for new materials pursued a
complementary materiality and a thematic connection to an essential Baltimore palette.

©
Norscode
The bar is clad in hot-rolled steel plate reflecting the existing structural steel and blackened brick. Its
white marble top illuminates its patrons and recalls the city’s marble stoops. The end walls, which
conceal the kitchen and form the main entry, are clad in reclaimed floor joist from neighboring row
houses. The new Café accommodates exhibits, performances, and a mural showcasing the talent of
local artists