Cake Architecture draws on architectural landmarks for Thames-side WatchHouse cafe
London studio Cake Architecture aimed to distil the "atmosphere of the Thames and its embankment" inside this coffee shop, which features a carved ceiling void and a monolithic espresso counter.
Located in the Millennium Bridge House, a building on the Thames alongside the Foster + Partners-designed Millennium Bridge, the 190-square-metre WatchHouse cafe was designed to evoke the nearby St Paul's Cathedral and Tate Modern.
"We have tried to distil this atmosphere of the Thames and its embankment," Cake Architecture founding partner Hugh Scott Moncrieff told Dezeen.
"The starting point was the contrast between the monumental London skyline; St Paul's, Tate Modern, Tower Bridge and the fleeting, atmospheric quality of the Thames," he continued. "That tension between permanence and movement, solid form and shifting light, became the core idea of the space."
The surrounding architecture influenced both the scale of the space and specific architectural details in the WatchHouse cafe, which has a dramatic circular ceiling void.
"The carved ceiling void references the geometry and procession of St Paul's dome, while the monolithic espresso counter draws from the industrial language of the Tate Modern and the infrastructural character of the river," Moncrieff said.
"The interior translates these external forms into a more intimate spatial experience."
The wood-clad interior, made from timber and cherry veneer, also features plenty of contrasting stainless-steel details, as well as a concrete floor that Cake Architecture introduced in a nod to the nearby river.
"Timber and introduces warmth and tactility, while the metals provide reflectivity and diffusion of light," Moncrieff explained.
"The concrete floor is reminiscent of the Thames river bed and inspired by the practice of 'mudlarking'. We have tried to create a space that responds dynamically to its context and to the changing light through the day."
Like another recent store for the coffee brand in the City of London, the colour palette has been kept natural and is dominated by the wooden panelling.
"The palette is drawn directly from the immediate context; the tonal shifts of the Thames, the muted stone of the embankment, and the changing sky," Moncrieff said.
"Subtle back-painted finishes introduce soft iridescence, enabling colour to diffuse and evolve as light conditions shift."
The latest WatchHouse store, which has 60 seats, will serve special and rare coffee, as well as breakfast, viennoiserie and bakery options.
Cake Architecture has previously designed a "hedonistic" spa with the UK's largest sauna and a late-night London restaurant informed by Edward Hopper's paintings.
The photography is by Felix Speller.
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