The coffee parlour scene is heating up in Bangkok with the opening, a little while ago, of FACTORY‘s newest outpost. The Thai coffee brand, founded only a few years ago by young entrepreneurs Bew-Setthakan Weerakultaewan and Man-Atip Achalerttrakul, has garnered an increasing following of discerning coffee aficionados. Following a longtime retail presence in Phaya Thai, the downtown area where it all started, FACTORY has taken its operations to a whole new level by opening a new branch in Phlabphla, and area north of the city centre, straddled alongside the busy Chalong Rat Expressway. Aptly called FACTORY HQ, the café occupies an existing two-storey concrete structure which it shares with the company’s operational hub. Unsurprisingly, the interior design, created by Bangkok-based interior design practice TasteSpace, is inspired by industrial buildings and makes ample use of the structure’s concrete shell.
Existing walls and floors have been demolished to create an open and airy atrium space which is anchored by a large, understated service counter on the ground floor. At the back, behind a glass wall, a coffee roasting room is situated, offering customers ample peeks of the roasting process. In contrast with the abundance of rough edges inside, the building’s exterior is fully clad in frosted polycarbonate, a material which not only filters the bright sunlight, but also provides FACTORY HQ with top-notch heat insulation, a necessity in this part of the world. One floor up, office space and a workshop dotted with an array of coffee machines can be found. Equally open and light-filled, the space forms a seamless extension of the public area downstairs. The menu at FACTORY HQ lists a large variety of hot and cold coffee concoctions created from homegrown and foreign beans, in addition to matcha options, pastries and bites, and last but not least, branded merchandise. © superfuture
FACTORY HQ
226/2 Thanon Pradit Manutham (Phlabphla)
Bangkok 10310
Telephone +66 94 2174422
Daily 8am-4pm
Publishers Note
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