OZBE Cafe / KKOL Studio

During the early stages of design, contemplation about the gray concrete finish intrinsic to the building itself came first. There were concerns that the juxtaposed characteristics between fruit – which inevitably make one expect impressions of freshness and greenery – and the concrete may potentially lead to detracting from each other’s innate charm. After thorough consideration, we envisioned the image of “flowers blossoming from the crevices in gray concrete.” Though this may look pitiful relative to flowers in full bloom in a garden, each petal brimming with light, it exudes a powerful presence and life force unmatched by any other. With that, the design was intended to empower OZBE’s fruits to carry the “energy of hunched vitality” within the space.

To that end, the design aimed to retain as much of the original concrete finish as possible while creating visual and affective balance with the space’s main material, maple hardwood. The sensibility of this balance reaches fruition when the colorful fruit is placed in the space. This connectivity exists not only on the ground floor but also on all floors above it. The scattering of plants of a variety of sizes was intended to maintain this balance instead of fruit and add a touch of warmth and texture.

Anticipating that the space would attract many middle-aged customers or families due to the fruit market, establishing beauty and utility that can be shared by all age groups was another challenge. To address this, curved benches utilizing slats and unique, large-scale custom furniture that appeal to children in addition to comfortable lounge seating and tables of varying heights in consideration of middle-aged patrons were distributed evenly on all floors.