A curvaceous counter connects customers with their barista at Voids Café, a compact café in River Valley, Singapore, designed by Studio SKLIM.
In his INDE.Awards 2020 project submission, architect Kevin Lim described the aesthetic of Voids Café as “fluid, with its own fuzzy logic”. And you can see what he means. His cavernous design for the tight site is certainly not based on any premeditated idea of what a café should look like. Ergonomically, however, Voids Café by Studio SKLIM is precisely as it should be.
“Our client gave us carte blanche to design this micro café,” says Lim, the founding director of the Singapore-based practice, Studio SKLIM. In a nutshell, the brief was this:
What’s an architect to do? “Our work is methodical and stems from pragmatic means through the analysis of anthropometrics and human movements,” says Lim. The architects’ most immediate and daunting challenge was to integrate eighteen pieces of coffee paraphernalia and kitchen equipment, all the while making a comfortable space for both work and leisure.
With the exacting eye of a sculptor, Studio SKLIM has carved out a cavernous yet intimate and optimally ergonomic space in which voids become form. “The empty space in a coffee cup or matcha bowl was the form-giving inspiration for this café,” says Lim. High ceilings and circular geometries, punctuated by negative space, lay the land for seating booths, countertops, display shelves, overhanging canopies and, of course, the café’s workstation.
“Materiality is something very dear to the ethos of the studio,” says Lim. And in the case of Voids Café, concrete prevails. In one seamless, sweeping gesture the concrete counter flows into the floor. Plants emerge from small cracks cast into the powdered pink concrete countertop – “a playful detail inspired by weeds growing out of odd places” – bringing about an organic feel. Meanwhile, the canopy overhead has been rendered in a heavily textured stucco, inspired by the gritty consistency of coffee grounds, to create an appearance akin to an “anti-gravity ‘coffee cloud’”.
“We tried to promote the art of coffee and tea drinking through the engagement of all senses,” says the architect. Studio SKLIM has done just that, carving seated nooks into the counter, to bring about a closer interaction between customers and barista. From within these intimate and curved booth-like niches, one is close enough to fully experience the sacred ritual of coffee making.
A searchable and comprehensive guide for specifying leading products and their suppliers
Keep up to date with the latest and greatest from our industry BFF's!
Create a configuration to suit your needs with this curved collection.
Marylou Cafaro’s first trendjournal sparked a powerful, decades-long movement in joinery designs and finishes which eventually saw Australian design develop its independence and characteristic style. Now, polytec offers all-new insights into the future of Australian design.
The Sub-Zero Wolf showrooms in Sydney and Melbourne provide a creative experience unlike any other. Now showcasing all-new product ranges, the showrooms present a unique perspective on the future of kitchens, homes and lifestyles.
Sub-Zero and Wolf’s prestigious Kitchen Design Contest (KDC) has celebrated the very best in kitchen innovation and aesthetics for three decades now. Recognising premier kitchen design professionals from around the globe, the KDC facilitates innovation, style and functionality that pushes boundaries.
A hospitality venue in the heart of Osaka comprising four dining options – a place where nostalgic pastimes meet high-end dining.
Third in the series of boutique hotels under the Lloyd’s Inn brand, Lloyd’s Inn Kuala Lumpur bring the immediacy of nature to the new high-rise hospitality experience in the heart of a bustling city.
The internet never sleeps! Here's the stuff you might have missed
Savage Design’s approach to understanding the relationship between design concepts and user experience, particularly with metalwork, transcends traditional boundaries, blending timeless craftsmanship with digital innovation to create enduring elegance in objects, furnishings, and door furniture.
London-based Carmody Groarke and Paris-based TVK have been announced as winners of a milestone competition for the new Bibliothèque nationale de France conservation centre.