Neri&Hu, a renowned architectural firm, has designed a new Blue Bottle Coffee store in Shanghai’s Zhangyuan, a historic garden known as the ‘First Garden in Shanghai’. The design seamlessly blends contemporary elements with the traditional architecture of the stone-gate houses, creating a unique and welcoming space that captures the essence of Shanghai’s rich cultural heritage.
Since the late 19th century, Zhangyuan has been known as the “First Garden in Shanghai.” As one of the earliest public spaces in modern China, Zhangyuan promoted urban life in China and Shanghai’s Haipai culture. In 2022, as Zhangyuan reopened to the public after renovation, Blue Bottle Coffee invited Neri&Hu to create a contemporary community space in the old stone-gate house, using coffee as a medium for dialogue and integrating Shanghai’s lifestyle. 
Zhangyuan is full of the collective memory of this city. Like the scene described by Mu Xin, “In the evening, the setting sun shines west, the buildings form a shady band, and people in the houses sit and lie in the alley like crabs coming out of their holes.” The alleys of Shanghai are crisscrossed. The people who live there are always able to enjoy a moment of leisure in this space. Neri&Hu wanted to capture the city’s texture and veins through design, weaving a narrative journey for local residents and travelers. 
Out of respect for historical preservation, the original brick walls and windows of the building façade and courtyard were retained and extended into the interior, becoming the context and canvas for the designers’ work. Neri&Hu traced the building’s origins and inserted a primitive dwelling into the interior. This simple “shelter,” as the intersection of circulation and the visual focal point of the space, is the bar area where baristas carefully brew drinks.
The strip of space between the dwelling and the building’s brick wall, like an indoor alley, connects the main space to the courtyard. In between, there are a few benches and small tables, where you can sit by the window and feel like you’ve gone back to the days of the stone-gate houses.
To contrast with the historical texture of the existing building, Neri&Hu repeatedly studied and refined the structure and construction joints of the dwelling, making it as light as possible. The roof truss is made entirely of textured stainless steel, and the roof is made of perforated, folded steel plate. These materials subtly and ambiguously reflect the surrounding environment. In the old days, residents would build simple structures on the building façade to extend their private space into the alleyway.
Inspired by this, Neri&Hu made a slight connection with the metal rods on the existing structural columns of the building, achieving the functions of track lighting, side tables, benches, and display cabinets. In addition to branded furniture, the store also carefully adds traditional old furniture. The traces left by time also bring a touch of warmth to this new and old blend of Blue Bottle Coffee.
Project Information:
Project name: Blue Bottle Coffee Zhangyuan Store
Space Type: Catering Space, Brand Coffee Shop
Space Address: No. 240, Maoming North Road, Jing’an District, Shanghai, China, W5-1A
Per capita consumption: 60 yuan / person
Design company: Neri&Hu Design and Research Office
Principal Architect: Lyndon Neri, Rossana Hu
Project Management: Li Qiucheng
Design Team: Zhang Jiaxin, Chen Xi, Zou Peizheng, Zhou Shangyun, Wu Zhenhai, Hong Mingyue
Soft decoration design and procurement: Design Republic
General contractor: Shanghai Landtop Decoration Engineering Co., Ltd
Building area: 175 square meters
Main materials: Concrete, perforated corrugated board, textured stainless steel, solid wood, weathering steel plate
Photography copyright: Neri&Hu Design and Research Office
