Shanghai’s Birdie Cup Coffee sits beneath a pillowy pavilion

Playful ‘dream’ architecture

This tiny Shanghai coffee kiosk stakes its claim on the city’s West Nanjing Road with an inflatable roof that floats overhead.

F.O.G. Architecture designed the coffee shop, which sits right next door to a busy metro station. The crowded architecture and flow of people prompted the studio to build what it describes as a ‘pacifying emotional landmark’.

Birdie Cup Coffee’s serving counter is wrapped in plate glass – and lit by a glowing ceiling – while the entire kiosk sits on a metal plinth. Where the shop comes to life is the ‘white floating puffs’ that form the roof, and stand out from the strict lines of the surrounding architecture.

Photography: InSpace

Passersby can decide if the inflatable pavilion is reminiscent of the frothy top of a coffee, a cluster of balloons or a sky of cartoon clouds, with the studio saying it wants people to create their own ‘spontaneous connections’ to the building.

Fengshengli, West Nanjing Road, Shanghai

Photography: InSpace
Photography: InSpace
Photography: InSpace

Enfin is a serene feast for the eyes

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