You could say that Hyundai U-Plex is very much part of a nucleus of department stores situated in Sinchon, an area of Seoul largely known for its several universities and buzzing nightlife. Given the presence of thousands of students in this part of town, Hyundai U-Plex specifically caters to the lifestyle of this youthful demographic, and seen in this light, it isn’t surprising to see a funky new outpost of Mellower to have opened on the premises. It’s embedded in the Peer shop on second floor, a special retail format within the department store which targets young consumers with a tightly edited range of brands, and occupies 145 sqm. (1,561 sq.ft.). Designed by Seoul-based architecture and design practice NBDC, the Mellower café sits on an elevated part of the store – mind you, a parking slope is situated right below – and features both a regular stairways and ones which can be used as seating. The platform is marked by a grid of yellow carpet tiles and metal strips whose ends protrude and form dividers between the aforementioned seating spaces. A pavilion-like structure, replete with backlit yellow roof, features a grid-like façade and is home to Mellower‘s service station and bakery. Furnishings comprise of two sculptural design benches paired with round and square white tables situated right in front of the pavilion, and more of such tables with matching chairs can be found on another elevated level at the far end. Mellower is best known for its variety of coffee concoctions, but as said, there’s a bakery on the premises, and it churns out a variety of freshly made pastries.
Mellower
Hyundai U-Plex. 83 Sinchon-ro, Second Floor (Sinchon)
03789 Seoul
Telephone: +82 2 31451785
Daily 10.30am-10pm
Publishers Note
Just to be clear – superfuture® is a design blog and not a political commentator. No surprise there. The scope of our content has always been global and borderless, however that can often mean covering projects in countries where we will not agree with the politics or actions of those countries. In a world that’s as screwed up as ever right now, the focus of our support is to those designers, architects and other creatives who aim to make the world a more liveable one – as opposed to people that try their hardest to destroy it. So if a project hits our desk and we like it based on its design credentials, we may choose to publish regardless of its location or creators nationality. superfuture® has always been inclusive and hopes for all current wars, aggression, violence, hate and extremism to end.
