Café Kureon Design by Kengo Kuma and Associates

Tokyo-based practice Kengo Kuma and Associates already impressed us with several projects such as the Tokyo Starbucks coffee shop where they showed us their creative vision as well as their collection of toys-inspired furniture. Both these projects along with the third one we’re presenting today have something in common. They all use wood in new and imaginative ways.

Cafe kureon project4

This is Café Kureon, a new restaurant located in Toyama, Japan. It covers a surface of 197 square meters and it’s sitting in a meadow. The first impression when laying eyes on the restaurant is that it appears to be floating above the ground. Indeed, the restaurant’s exterior only minimally touches the ground, thus the floating effect. The exterior is an artistic alignment of wood pieces. The effect they have is visually impressive and dynamic.

Cafe kureon project4
Cafe kureon project4
Cafe kureon project4

Cafe kureon project4

Inside, the restaurant features an internal dining space. This zone is contained within a glass-enclosed box. This glass box is the actual structure and the interlocking lengths of timber are only partially covering it and have an artistic and decorative function. Resembling Lego pieces, they are placed perpendicular to each other in a grid-like arrangement. The restaurant has a contemporary design and it’s a creative project from more than just one point of view. It utilizes common materials but takes them to a whole new level and this is what impresses most.