Spatial experiment

The project reflects Shanghai’s evolving urban culture. By creating a curated immersive environment, the café acts as both a neighborhood gathering place and a statement of global coffee culture. It connects the local context with international design trends, enriching the city’s cultural fabric.

 

Design Philosophy

The project was conceived as a commercial space that transcends traditional functions. Instead of a conventional café, it represents an immersive curatorial experience, where design, commerce, and community intertwine. The design emphasizes a new urban lifestyle -open, experimental, and centered around creative exchange.

The original building’s spacious design and rugged industrial features offered both challenges and opportunities for the project. Instead of using traditional walls, the design features low, wooden walls and modular display racks to create a space that feels both open and organized. The plant installations at the entrance and the creative exhibition square blend together, marking the start of the commercial transformation while also telling a cultural story. The space is designed to grow organically: the modular racks can be rearranged to update product displays, and the central area can be quickly changed into a conference or event space by moving the coffee cart and adjusting the seating. This flexibility is key to balancing the space’s function and aesthetic appeal.

 

 

Spatial Organization

The spatial concept blends circulation, display, and social interaction. Multiple levels of platforms and corridors connect seamlessly, allowing people to experience the café dynamically from different perspectives. The arrangement encourages movement, interaction, and exploration, making the space part café, part gallery, part social hub. Zones for coffee, exhibition, and creative workshops are integrated within a single cohesive narrative. Flexible furniture and modular installations allow the space to adapt to different events and activities. The functional design ensures both day-to-day café operation and the potential to host curated events or art showcases.

 

 

Material Palette & Sustainability

Natural textures like wood, stone, and metal are layered with experimental finishes. Contrasts of raw and refined materials reflect the blend of commerce and creativity. Lighting plays a key role, highlighting architectural gestures while shaping intimate atmospheres. Finally, the modular display systems and flexible plant arrangements make the space adaptable to seasonal changes, events, and the natural rhythms of the plants. This method goes beyond traditional design, giving the space the ability to adjust and stay lively. It’s sustainable not only because it uses natural elements to save energy, but because the design allows commercial activities to blend with the space’s natural flow.

 

Architecture of contours

Anadu Pine Villa is situated in a secluded valley, a two-hour drive from Shanghai, enveloped by pine forests and shielded by a mountain draped in bamboo. This boutique estate comprises just three elegantly designed guest suites, each with panoramic views, complemented by a refined wine and cigar bar.

 

Design Philosophy

In line with Anadu’s philosophy of “Find yourself in nature,” the objective -from planning to architectural design- is to showcase the unique beauty of the valley’s pine forests. Consequently, the design aim was to harmonize with the natural landscape, creating an unparalleled retreat experience exclusive to Pine Villa. The buildings are thoughtfully positioned along the valley’s contours, each oriented to capture unique views. Guests are invited to embrace the gentle valley breeze as they embark on their journey to tranquility. At the entrance, a bamboo-textured concrete and charred black wood “L”-shaped gate harmoniously merges with the landscape, welcoming guests with open arms -embracing the valley’s greenery on one side and inviting visitors on the other.

Originally, an abandoned old house stood where the wine house now sits. To honor the site’s history, the new building echoes the old structure’s gabled roof, redesigned into a four-sloped form that creates a harmonious, tranquil scale from every angle. The walls are entirely made of glass, maximizing the views, while the northeast dining area faces a quieter hillside, and the semi-enclosed lounge provides a more private atmosphere.

 

 

Spatial Organization

A curved bamboo-textured wall leads guests from the wine house to the guest area, where the hard ground transitions into soft gravel paths, evoking a vacation atmosphere. At the path’s end, a small plaza provides a moment of pause before entering the guest area, enhancing the sense of seclusion. The three minimal standalone structures sit quietly in the valley, surrounded by the forest. Facing staggered walls that obscure the rear of the space, guests are invited to imagine what lies beyond.

Upon entering the space, the view dramatically opens up: two concrete slabs face the valley with no obstructions. The interior flows seamlessly with 270-degree panoramic views, offering a fully immersive experience. The rooms are embraced by nature on three sides, each framing its own unique view.

 

 

Materials, Lighting & Furniture

To keep the structure minimal, the buildings are cast from exposed concrete with integrated beams and embedded piping, ensuring no visible ceiling beams, lighting fixtures, or suspended structures. The clean concrete slabs unify the space. The floor slab floats above the valley, respecting and connecting with the terrain, while appearing to hover above it. Through the glass doors, each room opens onto a private backyard in the pine forest. The eaves extend into a shaded area, blending the indoors with nature. Every guest room has its own floating outdoor deck, offering a further connection to the valley.

The landscape design softens the boundaries between the estate and its surroundings, using native valley plants to integrate seamlessly into the environment. Discreet lighting, resembling fireflies, dots the pathways and grounds, enhancing the serene, secluded atmosphere.

The project extensively utilizes woodwork, wooden furniture, and wooden crafts, most of which are crafted from old wood sourced from local markets, with 80% of these items handcrafted by artisans. These repurposed woods are thoughtfully shaped by craftsmen to match the scale and essence of their surroundings, thereby enhancing the unique ambiance as well as supporting the preservation and continuation of local craftsmanship.