Inside the Rise Coffee cafe in Bangkok, Thailand. Photo by Thanapol Jongsiripipat, courtesy of Space+craft.
As we look back on the year in coffee, we’ve been routinely distracted by some dazzling displays of architecture and interior design.
Some of that was on display in our reviews of the most exciting coffee shop openings in the United States (see our complete 2022 Year in Review coverage), but now we take a broader, more international focus, highlighting some of the year’s most breathtaking cafe design work.
Each of these cafes — a few of which technically opened in 2021 — comes from DCN’s ongoing Design Details series. (Learn more about the series and submit your projects for consideration here.)
Swimming in Blue at Blue Bottle Coffee Osaka
Among the 24 Blue Bottle Coffee Japan retail locations, the design of the first-ever Osaka outpost might be the most literal interpretation of the brand yet… Read more
20th Century Milan Meets ’80s Memphis at Coffeelin
A new coffee-by-day, cocktails-by-night bar in Hong Kong’s bustling Happy Valley neighborhood seamlessly combines elements of 20th-century Milanese cafe style and 1980s Memphis design style within a contemporary urban setting… Read more
The Natural Path to HOH Café in Taiwan
This embodiment of respite in nature follows the vision of Taiwan-based Infeel Architects, which created a series of sleeper walls and textured wood foot slabs that lead to the HOH Café bar… Read more
Flowing Spaces at mtl in South Korea
Opened last year inside a new Lotte department store in the South Korean city of Dongtan, a new lifestyle brand called mtl blends coffee with other retail and lounge spaces… Read more
Coffee is the Color at 43 Factory in Ho Chi Minh City
The progressive Vietnamese coffee roasting and retail outfit 43 Factory Coffee Roaster has opened its second shop, a veritable black-and-white pedestal at which coffee and its provenance are left to provide an abundance of color… Read more
Mud Arches Meet Art Deco at Elixir Bunn Coffee Roasters
Combining the curved, spiraling and columnar forms of mosque architecture with art deco and contemporary coffee touches, the fourth retail shop of Saudi Arabian coffee roasting company Elixir Bunn was designed as a kind of local temple to contemporary coffee… Read more
White Floating Puffs at Birdie Cup in Shanghai
Situated in a tightly packed office and commercial corridor next to a metro station, Birdie Cup Coffee offers a moment of coffee-fueled respite surrounded by white floating puffs… Read more
Rainbow Zinc and Modular Furniture at 23a in Ukraine
The shop is just steps away from the Kharkiv State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre, which was damaged by a Russian missile as part of ongoing Russian attacks in the city… Read more
The Bar Meets the Sidewalk at Singular Coffee in Santiago
The shop’s most striking feature is arguably its seamless connection to the streetscape, a feat made possible through the work of a design team at Santiago-based Oficina Bravo… Read more
A Clean Wooden Box Embedded in a Shanghai Street
Located in an area of central Shanghai that more than a century ago was established as a French settlement, a clean, wooden box by the name of YiJian Cafe appears in warm contrast to the grey concrete street… Read more
Curved Kiosks and a Stingray in Flight at London’s Royal Parks
Part of a public space enhancement project in London, England’s Royal Parks, a new brass kiosk serving coffee and other treats stands as a swooping, curvy complement to its regal and natural surroundings… Read more
A Cafe of Containers at Café Kontejner in Prague
In the heart of the Prague 7 district, Holešovice, stands Café Kontejner, a contemporary specialty coffee cafe in a temporary structure composed of three repurposed shipping containers… Read more
90s Apartment Vibes at Đen Đá Coffee in Ho Chi Minh City
Blending commonly found Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) home interior design elements with colorful 1990s vibes is one of the many locations of Vietnamese small specialty coffee chain Đen Đá Coffee… Read more
Corrugation and Clarity at Rise Coffee in Bangkok
Surrounded by offices and high-rise buildings in the Ploenchit district, the 1,614-square-foot Rise Coffee space is divided into two primary zones: a coffee lab geared toward collaboration and exploration, and a coffee bar designed to create approachable specialty coffee connections… Read more
The Bermuda Coffee Triangle in Indonesia
In the province of Banten near the border of Jakarta stands Bermuda Coffee & Eatery, defined by the simple geometric triangle shape that references the Bermuda brand identity… Read more
The Spirit of the Sun at YAMA Coffee in Vietnam
A redesign of the YAMA coffee and tea shop in the Vietnamese city of Tây Ninh was inspired by the brand’s original beatific vision — You Are My Angel — while simultaneously responding to the modernization of the shop’s surroundings… Read more
Semi-Transparent Separation at Felix in Providencia, Chile
A single-location independent specialty coffee shop called Felix (styled FELIX) reflects the creative reuse of a former multilevel laundromat in the Providencia district of Santiago, Chile… Read more
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