Newly established lifestyle brand Mihe Farm – mind you, it’s indeed an actual farm – is situated on the outskirts of Xi’an, a bustling city of over 12 million dwellers, providing urban families and kids a bucolic escape with a number of facilities and services that allow them not only to connect with the relaxing charm of life in the countryside, but also dine out, and purchase organic produce. Needless to say, city folk like their amenities, in fact, it’s hard for them to kick off, especially the plethora of coffee concoctions readily available in the city. Here is where Zhicang Café comes in. a design-led coffee parlour nestled smack in the middle, on an elevated part of the lush 530-acre farm grounds. In turn, the farm grounds are part of a large-scale rural revitalisation plan which enables the city’s urban population to escape the taxing hustle and bustle. A survey of the original site shows that trees of different densities are planted. The trees near the east and north sides are dense, while there are only a few sparse trees on the west and south sides. These trees together enclose a nearly triangular open space with a certain height difference.
Based on the notion of the aforementioned triangle, Zhicang Café has been designed in a prism shape, creating a natural sense of shelter, but also emphasising its elevated location. Concepted as an extrapolation of sorts of Mihe Farm‘s objectives, Zhicang Café effortlessly connects to its surroundings thanks to its construction of steel and abundant glass which direct and unobstructed views of all the greenery. A spiral staircase leads to a walking path on the second floor, and ultimately, to an outdoor footpath. On the north façade a base plate and a sunlight panel were added on the inside and outside of the steel structure. Additionally, multiple horizontal light strips were installed in the interlayer between the steel structure and the sunlight panel. Given Mihe Farm‘s strong affiliation with the countryside, the premises are dotted with potted plants and even a maple tree. Unsurprisingly, Zhicang Café offers visitors a variety of coffee concoctions, but also a range of coffee products, and there’s even an art shop. © superfuture
Zhicang Café
Mihe Farm, Lixiahao Shangye Jie (Weiyang)
710016 Xi’an
Publishers Note
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