Conceived by Karv One Design, Vista is a cafe that feels like a futuristic, upside-down world, where vegetation hangs from the ceiling and the terrazzo floor is reminiscent of a cloudy sky.

The 930 square-metre cafe is located in Fuzhou, China and each aspect of its palette is calming and subtle, yet the combination of features produces an engaging, sculptural and unexpected design.

The design is meant to bring “a brand-new sense of lightness and imagination to the cafe experience,” says lead architect Kyle Chan.

The material palette is relatively minimal, with each element of the design used consistently. White terrazzo speckled with flecks of beige and dark grey covers the floor, curving bench seats around the sides of the curving staircase.

White gridded metal forms the handrail of the staircase and is also used to create a curving maze across the ceiling. The metal grid resembles “a fluttering ribbon in the wind,” and is designed to create a dream-like space, says Chan.

Green grassy balls hang weightlessly down, planet-like, in the space left by the staircase’s curve, an alien-like mirroring of the verdant greenery that covers the ceiling.

On one wall, a large surface of gradient glass acts to visually extend the space, while also strengthening the dreamy feeling of the space. In the centre of the room a bar covered in silver panelling hosts the espresso machine and is flanked by dark green stools. Soft linear lighting joins the terrazzo and metal to “carve out the most beautiful form of space”.

Outside the space, a water feature creates a reflective surface, mirroring the facade of the cafe.

“Different behavioural patterns are generated when people are gathered in this surreal white garden and interact with each other,” says Chan. “The people flow inside the space and the water elements outside the space echo with the thematic atmosphere of the project, creating a perfect spatial experience for visitors.”

Karv One is a design studio with offices in Hong Kong, Singapore, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Nanjing, Chengdu and Wuhan.

The result of Karv One’s design is both futuristic and dreamlike, with an exterior that is at once both intriguing and welcoming.

Photography by King Ou / Jimmy He

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