It has been a little while since we first talked about Sik Mul Sung, a new South Korean hospitality format, in a previous post. The new venture of N.THING, a Seoul-based company which manages so-called smart farms which combine agricultural industry with internet technology to circumvent the restraints of time and space to allow consumers easy access to clean and safe foods, has resonated well, leading to the inauguration of a sec0nd branch in the booming satellite town of Incheon, home to South Korea‘s largest international airport and part of Seoul‘s sprawling metropolitan area. The new Sik Mul Sung café is located on the premises of E-mart, a large shopping centre, where it occupies a 198 sqm. (2,131 sq.ft.) unit on the ground floor. The interior design, created by Seoul-based architecture practice unseenbird, sees plenty of references to the aesthetic of the first branch.
However, the venue still has a distinct character featuring a palette of merely stainless steel, special paint and decorative tiles. The café’s glass-encased and brightly lit cultivation room brimming with veggies arguably is the café’s focal point. It’s flanked on one side by a counter with stools and a conveyor belt which rotates dishes, transporting the ingredients for salads and ice cream, and when ordered by customers. On the other side of the growing room, additional seating can be found which overlooks the building’s courtyard. The adjacent café is anchored by a sizeable service counter which has a seating area comprising of steel tables and chairs, and lining the side wall, an elongated bench. The new Sik Mul Sung café menu lists salad bowls, cookies and ice creams, while the store is stocked with fresh veggies, plant kits, seeds and utensils.
Sik Mul Sung
E-mart, 184 Hyeongwon-daero (Yeonsu)
21975 Incheon
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.
