Known as the Miami of South Korea, Busan is known for its beaches and mountains. When the design team at Seoul-based Matter Better Interior Design Studio (mttb) approached their brief for a beach cafe in the city of Gijang-eup in the Busan Metropolitan City region for a local brand Off.O, they knew the landscape had to be the be the main attraction.
The structure with the 589 square meter cafe on the weathered, rugged beach is elegant in its low minimalist profile.
The cafe extends into three separate buildings. A bakery and a coffee bar are located in the central entrance area. Diagonally on either side are two separate sitting areas, each with a fantastic view of the beach.
Minimalist black, white and natural slate tones dominate all three spaces with the bakery largely slate gray and one of the sitting areas almost completely black with long tables and low-hanging lighting. The overall elongated, low-slung design language draws attention to the windows and to the rugged landscape outside.
The boxy shape of the structures and the austere shapes of the windows and long tables are softened by rounded details, such as the pendant lamps, chair backs and the edges of the lower tables made of voluminous, dark boards of wood.
With the dark minimalist interiors and the covered pathways flanked by rock-filled “springs”, there is a definite Japanese sensibility to the seating areas. We love the drama created by letting the spectacular views dominate the rooms.
Matter Better (mttb) was responsible for branding, concept design, schematic design, working drawings and design supervision of this project.
