Skateboarding a global thing? Well, if it wasn’t, Simple Longboards surely changed the game. Based in Vienna, the company set out to create its very first global concept store, but not only considered its homebase, but also Amsterdam, Seoul, Tokyo and Taipei. Eventually, after much deliberation, the Taiwanese capital ended as the favourite spot. Occupying a 100 sqm. (1,076 sq.ft.) ground floor unit of a twelve-storey building in the city’s white collar district of Zhongzheng, The Platypus Café is a hybrid venture which blends retail with hospitality. Designers Joy Huang and Hans Lin of local interior design practice Radius created a setting which signals its double purpose, featuring polished concrete flooring with skate ramp-inspired curved edges, moveable metal seating and weathered wooden beams which dot the premises like totem poles, albeit ones displaying Simple Longboards skate decks. On one side, the concrete floor extends into a full-fledged service counter while elsewhere it embeds planters with cacti and aloe vera plants. Lighting comes in the form of nine large industrial pendant lamps which add to the setting’s industrial vibe. So, the menu at The Platypus Café is simple and concise, listing variations of coffee and a number of typically Austrian bites and desserts.
The Platypus Café
101 Hangzhou South Road (Zhongzheng)
Taipei 100
Mon 10-5.30
Wed-Sun 10-5.30
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.
