JJ ACUNA / BESPOKE STUDIO
Designer James JJ Acuna on creating a space that caters to the millennial market
Post Magazine
WORDS BY
Rachel Duffell
IMAGES
Post Magazine
PUBLISHED
30 March, 2019
“Designer James JJ Acuna on creating a space that caters to the millennial market The creative director of eponymous Hong Kong- and Manila-based studio, talks about the design ingredients behind The Central Sweets dessert hall at The Central, in Yangon, Myanmar.”

“The client, Marga Group, was working on The Central, a big development in Yangon [Myanmar], with residences, office space, shopping, F&B [food and beverage], and they were looking to run some of the F&B concepts them­selves, including a food hall featuring desserts for the millennial market. They gave me a double height, street-­side space and asked me to design a food courtselling local and imported desserts.”

Interpretation
 
“I wanted to create interiors that were fun and youthful, because that’s the target age group. My forms are simple and playful – circular tables, low benches; it’s easy geometry. I designed every piece. In a commer­cial project, like a food court, you might have a lot of contract furniture, but I wanted it to look like someone had handcrafted each piece.

 

LINK: https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3003874/james-jj-acuna-creating-space-catered?module=perpetual_scroll_0&pgtype=article

“I also looked at Yangon’s Victorian architecture – such as the romantic shapes and arches – and that’s why you see a lot of retro aspects, but done in a modern and contemporary way. And I took inspiration from old-fashioned, turn-of-the-century dessert parlours in Europe – the black-and-white marble tiles allude to early 1900s dessert bars, bistros or cafes.”