Even the most popular neighborhood cafés have their downtimes when only a handful of customers are left hanging around, nursing their lattes for hours, and generally just soaking in the atmosphere.

Jun Sekino, founder and principal of Junsekino Architect and Design, understands this cycle, and proposed a design for a space that will serve more than a cup of Java. “Our concept was a coffee shop that serves coffee but also transforms into a the multi-purpose space. It is a meeting point where customers can relax while enjoying coffee, but it also has a purpose-built co-working space where customers can do productive work.”

Sekino’s brief from his client, who owns the space, was to set up a coffee shop within an existing office. “The owner wanted to turn a spacious meeting room and some parts of the building into the Storyline Café, a coffee shop with ‘eat, talk, and work’ concept in Bangkok, Thailand.

The spaces earmarked for the project were once part of the office and occupied the first and part of the second floors. There was also an outdoor space that could be incorporated into the café.

On the first floor are the coffee bar, food counter, and dining area designed as open contiguous spaces. On the second floor are two sections—the co-working space and a private office.

The design of the façade was meant to preserve the building’s identity and charm by keeping much of its elements, including the old glass panels. To these, natural materials have been added to sustain the look and feel of the original structure. Plants have been incorporated around the bar to create a fresh feel inside, while wood panels extend the feeling of enveloping coziness.   

“During the day, Storyline Café is naturally lit, but at night artificial lighting transforms it into a quaint bar that is quite unlike the café,” Sekino explains. “Depending on their time of visit, customers can have a different experience within the very same place.” 

Story Credits

Text by Marc Almagro

Images by Spaceshift StudiO

This story first appeared in FORM Magazine.