Founded only in 2013 in Shanghai, the WE COFFEE coffee parlour chain has since expanded exponentially in the Far East, Canada, and since three years, also in Brazil. The company chose the sprawling megalopolis that is São Paulo to set up shop, and now already operates eight cafés across town. The latest WE COFFEE branch to open, at the suburban Anália Franco shopping centre, sets itself apart with a clean and slightly futuristic interior design in black and white by JPG.ARQ, a local architecture and urban planning practice led by José Paulo Gouvêa. The interior design of the voluminous 165 sqm. (1,776 sq.ft.) store unit is anchored by a pristine white communal table which playfully meanders from the entrance all the way to the service counter. The communal table is flanked by side benches under inclined panels, and is paired with tables and chairs.
At the back of the WE COFFEE café sits the elongated service counter with a stuccoed front that seamlessly ties in with the building’s concrete pillars. A concealed adjacent room is used for storage. When looking more closely, the building’s concrete shell is far more embedded in the design—concrete blocks were painted black, while the concrete surfaces were revitalised and left exposed, enhancing the texture and geometry. This dark background creates the contrast that highlights the striking, inverted pyramid-shaped luminaires and the white side panels, designed with the same modulation as the precast slabs. This solution, besides valuing the structure, preserves the WE COFFEE‘s brand identity which is known for its predominant use of white colour in its stores. The new WE COFFEE café menu lists a wide variety of coffee concoctions, including iced and vegan options, smoothies, shakes, teas, as well as a wide range of pastries and cakes. © superfuture
WE COFFEE
Anália Franco Shopping Centre, Avenida Regente Feijó 1739 (Vila Regente Feijó)
SP 03342-00 São Paulo
Daily 10am-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.
