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Elephant Grounds on Star Street
Hong Kong

Silver Award Winner of the Hong Kong Design Awards 2016 hosted by The Design 100.

Upon the unveiling of the brand new 1120 sq.ft space housing the Elephant Grounds Coffee flagship in Hong Kong's chic Star Street Precinct, the project, a work by JJA / Bespoke Architecture, immediately transformed the character of its own site and surrounding neighborhood, through the passive performance of the design's warm timber-based materials with an emphasis on spatial transparency through indoor-outdoor oriented planning.

The project's corner site was an opportunity for the designers and client, to give importance to the all-day-cafe as it becomes a natural intersection for the area's tenants and office workers' daily activities. Elephant Ground's success lies in its role as a social hinge point for various class and user groups, and the simple strategies to reflect a more open and welcoming environment allow for this relationship.

 

本項目於2016年度榮獲由The Design 100頒發的Hong Kong Design Awards銀獎。

Elephant Grounds Coffee位於香港時尚地標星街，佔地1120平方英尺。工作室運用木料作整體設計主調，打破室內與室外的界限，同時讓店鋪融入周圍的環境之中，打造出一個全天候的開放式咖啡廳。

咖啡廳位於轉角的位置讓它成為了租戶和辦公室人員日常活動的自然交界處。Elephant Ground成功地以一種開放和好客的環境作策略，成為了各種階級和群體的中樞。

This cafe maximizes the use of natural daylight by incorporating large mechanical glass and metal windows throughout the majority of its facade, whilst taking advantage of the street’s pedestrian oriented location through the placement of timber window benches which double as both interior and exterior seating when the windows are fully raised on sunny days. A unique mixture of informal and formal dining and drinking activity is part of the attraction of this project, as patrons from various user groups are juxtaposed, with some staying as long as they need to get meetings or work done, while giving others the option to casually pass by to grab coffee in the midst of their daily commute.

This cafe maximizes the use of natural daylight by incorporating large mechanical glass and metal windows throughout the majority of its facade, whilst taking advantage of the street’s pedestrian oriented location through the placement of timber window benches which double as both interior and exterior seating when the windows are fully raised on sunny days. A unique mixture of informal and formal dining and drinking activity is part of the attraction of this project, as patrons from various user groups are juxtaposed, with some staying as long as they need to get meetings or work done, while giving others the option to casually pass by to grab coffee in the midst of their daily commute.

The front section of the restaurant’s main entry is pushed back 1.2 meters, allowing for a useful outdoor coffee bar service area facing its sidewalk frontage plus the the public plaza space across the street. This area is smartly kept within shopfront boundary to align with local licensing regulations, and gives an al-fresco atmosphere without extending beyond site line. Other unique design items in the project include a bespoke 1.4 x 2.7m-large moss garden installation specially produced by QuestTerrarium and the application of handcrafted timber and furnitures throughout the majority of the project's interior and exterior facade within the site by artisans, Start From Zero. Graphic metal letters hanging on the wall and low dining timber and metal chairs are all vintage antiques sourced in Paris by the Client, founder Kevin Poon, while black metal pendant lamps which hang over each table, were manufactured for the project by Schoolhouse Electric of Portland, Oregon.

咖啡廳大部分外牆都以大型落地玻璃及多個窗格替代，讓室內外均能享受自然光，同時沿著街道放置木製窗台，增加顧客在室外的座位。在陽光充足的日子裡，日光會透過落地玻璃覆蓋整間咖啡廳。這種形式讓喝咖啡與正式，非正式用餐結合，令來自不同群體的顧客能在這裡共存，進行會議或工作，或是走過喝杯咖啡；讓這成為咖啡廳獨特的吸引之處。

咖啡廳主入口向後推1.2米後，成為了一個室外咖啡吧，面向人行道正面以及街道對面的公共廣場空間。為了符合許可，該區域在提供戶外氛圍同時巧妙地保持在店面邊界內。咖啡廳的其他獨特設計項目包括由QuestTerrarium特別生產的定制的1.4 x 2.7米大型苔蘚花園裝置，以及整個項目的手工木材和傢俱都是由工匠從零開始製作的。掛在牆上的圖形金屬字母，矮木餐桌和金屬椅子均為客戶，即創始人Kevin Poon在巴黎採購的古董，而掛在每張桌子上的黑色金屬吊燈則是由波特蘭俄勒岡州的Schoolhouse Electric為該項目製造的。

Elephant Grounds Coffee on Star Street
Architecture & Interior Design
James JJ Acuna of JJ Acuna / Bespoke Architecture
Date of Completion
June 2016
Location
Hong Kong
Area
1,120 sq. ft. (inclusive of front and back of house)
Client
Elephant Grounds PP Limited
Site Photography
Zach Hone
On-Site Carpentry and Furniture
Start From Zero SFZ
Moss Installation
QuesTerrarium