Oak chairs sit amongst paper yarn-wrapped columns within this Blue Bottle Coffee cafe in Yokohama, Japan created by Keiji Ashizawa Design and Norm Architects.
The Blue Bottle Coffee cafe occupies a glass-front building in Yokohama's bustling business district, Minatomirai, and looks out across a leafy public park.
This setting became a key point of reference for Tokyo-based studio Keiji Ashizawa Design, which has exclusively decked out the interiors of the cafe with natural materials.
Top image: Paper yarn wraps around the cafe's columns. Above: A curved bar is at the centre of the floor plan
"We have aimed to create an atmosphere which welcomes the local community by mainly using wood, inspired by the park located by the Blue Bottle Coffee Minatomirai," said the studio's eponymous founder, Keiji Ashizawa. "The building acts as the main character of the park and provides a feeling of kindness with the natural materials in the industrial-looking landscape."
A local park inspired the natural material palette of the cafe
The open floor plan of the cafe is dominated by a huge half-moon service bar, behind which staff prepare drink orders. Its base is clad with slats of light-hued timber, while its countertop is made from flecked grey stone.
Pale timber has additionally been used for the cafe's flooring and its circular tables. Timber also forms smaller decorative elements like the menu board and a couple of oversized, ring-shaped lights that have been suspen...