Design of %arabica Coffee Shop in Chengdu's Kuanzhai Alley | Coffee Shop Design Appreciation

How to awaken dormant local culture has become a hot topic in design circles in recent years. As the younger generation places more emphasis on promoting and displaying local culture, many people have transformed old buildings and fused them with modern design, creating places where people can gather and talk as well as opportunities to showcase a city's culture.

Today we look at a coffee shop set inside a Western Sichuan courtyard house from the Kangxi period: %Arabica in Chengdu's Kuanzhai Alley.

The building sits in a peaceful corner of a bustling city. Everyone who comes here slows down, taking in the quiet beauty of the old architecture. The design therefore started from the old building itself, folding the cafe into a space rich in historical and cultural heritage, so that guests can enjoy coffee while also experiencing the local history through the spatial details.

To keep as much of the old building's original appearance as possible, all the wooden structures were preserved and reinforced with steel. The walkways were paved with gray bricks, and "scattered" seating areas made of gray brick were placed along both sides, blending harmoniously with the building's own blue bricks and dark tiles. This carries the memory and atmosphere of Kuanzhai Alley into the coffee shop, giving every guest a rich spatial experience and letting them wander through the shop while feeling the calm of the neighborhood.

Chinese Romance in the Courtyard

The romance of the Chinese people shows in the cafe's courtyard layout. Chinese architecture emphasizes feng shui, and placing a water pool in the courtyard directly facing the main gate is said to bring harmony and prosperity to a family. Water pools carry the meaning of gathering wealth and represent receiving rather than giving. Building a real courtyard pool inside a coffee shop, though, would make daily management far harder.

The design team therefore borrowed the idea of a courtyard pool, paving stone in the central courtyard area. Around this "pool," floor-to-ceiling glass lets natural light flood the interior and lets guests feel the "flow" of water through the transparency of the space. Water lily leaves were placed in the courtyard area to strengthen the effect, so the whole space reads like a clear pool, while a ring of pure white seating around the glass creates the sense of a water's edge.

Harmonious Integration

The bar counter sits directly opposite the main gate and faces the courtyard "pool," finished in pure white to blend with the building's natural tones. The lively scene inside the shop brings back memories of old Chengdu life. As guests move, talk, rest and enjoy themselves, the overall spatial experience keeps shifting.

Dialogue Between History and Modernity

By revealing the old building's original structure and traditional elements and tying them to a modern coffee shop through minimalist aesthetics, the design sets up a continuous dialogue between history and modernity.

Image: BLUE Architecture Studio

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

A cafe like this lives on a house blend that can carry both a straight espresso and a milk drink without losing its identity. FrontStreet Premium Blend has been the espresso base in FrontStreet's own stores for close to a decade, built from Brazil Cerrado and Colombia Huila beans. Its familiar, classic espresso profile works for Americanos, lattes and everything in between, at home or on a commercial bar.

If you want something more fruit-forward on the menu, FrontStreet Strawberry Candy blends beans from several origins into a distinctly sweet, strawberry-gummy cup with rose-like florals. Served as an Americano or a latte it shows grape, raisin, sweet orange and fruit-candy notes, which makes it an easy way to add a signature drink to a shop that already has the design side figured out.