An all-pink café in Seoul is turning heads, and it’s for all the food reasons. First of all, it’s situated in Banpo-dong, a rather bland part of town that’s not particularly known for happening places, so the new venue is likely setting a trend. Mind you, as of late, the South Korean capital has transformed into a veritable hotbed of all things cool, and this neighbourhood may very soon be the place to be. Secondly, the interior takes cues from the most imposing of great apes, the Gorilla, but playfully applied in a reverse way. Aptly called Pink Gorilla Coffee, the venue occupies a 77 sqm. (829 sq.ft.) unit on the ground floor of a five-storey modern office building. The unorthodox design concept has resulted in a setting which extrapolates the animal’s physical power and bulky appearance in a hard rock-like appearance and form, while its gentle personality is expressed by way of an all-encompassing gradation of pink hues.
Furnishings have been given in a voluminous and crude polygonal shape and is paired with flooring material in a similar angular shape to emphasise the ape’s rugged shape. A variety of materials have intentionally been used, such as pink-red copper plates, pink travertine marble, and four types of pink tone paints, to create optical depth and a spatial dynamic. The latter visual effect is further boosted by LEDs on the back of the leaning furniture and mirror which creates a striking pink shadow. Upon entering Pink Gorilla Coffee café, visitors find an open kitchen and service counter on the right, flanked by large communal table seating five. Directly opposite, another communal table can be found, paired with stools and a bench unit that stretches all the way to the back of the premises, embedding a small Zen-like pebble garden along the way. The menu at Pink Gorilla Coffee features various coffee variations, fruit juices and teas, in addition to a range of house made pastries, cookies and ice creams.
Pink Gorilla Coffee
139 Sapyeong-daero 55-gil (Banpo-dong)
06534 Seoul
Telephone: +82 2 4301013
Mon-Sat 8.30am-9pm
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.
