F.O.G. architecture fronts pop-up café and bakery with piles of grain sacks

cycle cycle mobile bakehouse by F.O.G Architecture

The Cycle Cycle mobile bakehouse by F.O.G Architecture is a pop-up café and bakery that explores the relationship between food and land. Its overall wooden structure is inspired by a barn, featuring a shading board on the front and rainproof canopy supported on top at the back. Stacks of grain sacks act as a facade and a ladder on the side references a straw shed for resting commonly seen on farmlands. Meanwhile, the mats on the rainproof canopy and the rough texture of the fabric in their primitive state present the beauty of wild nature.

Cycle Cycle mobile bakehouse | image © INSPACE

a wooden structure fronted with brick-inspired grain sacks

For the facade, the team at F.O.G Architecture combines the form of bricks and tactile sacks, with small openings intentionally left in between to allow activities like coffee making and bread packaging to be seen from the outside, while inviting natural lighting into the Cycle Cycle mobile bakehouse. A semi-private space can also materialize by raising the shading board and releasing the curtains. ‘Details such as the placement of the grain sacks, and the length of the curtain are figured out on site with input from architects, builders, and even random passers-by, adding a sense of impromptu. During construction, we did not put fences up, allowing passers-by to fully engage with the creation of the structure,’ explains the practice. 

image © INSPACE

modular, flexible, and mobile

Wanting to maximize flexibility and mobility, F.O.G opts for a prefabricated modular structure that is easily transportable and adaptable to various locations, creating a new public space within any urban city. To encourage interaction with the structure, the Cycle Cycle mobile bakehouse forms an outdoor seating area inspired by the low bench used by farmers who work close to the ground, while the grain sack facade functions as a back cushion, with drapped down curtain, offering privacy. By documenting the reception of the pop-up from city to city across China, the practice was able to witness its usability, ‘which sometimes is not what we intended as architects but interesting for us to explore and adapt when moving on to the next location,’ concludes F.O.G. 

overall wooden structure is inspired by a barn | image © INSPACE

image © INSPACE

a modular design that can be moved to different locations | image © INSPACE

a low seating area with the grain sacks as back cushioning | image © half half

image © INSPACE

creating a public space in any urban setting | image © INSPACE

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name: Cycle Cycle mobile bakhouse 

architect: F.O.G Architecture | @fogarchitecture

design team: Lei Ronghua, Xiong Aijie, Hou Shaokai, Zhuang Shaokai, Zhang Zhirui, Liu Jiarui, Zhan Di, Zheng Yu
structural designer: Juan Kou Structure / Tao Xinwei
lighting consultant: Liben Design / Zhang Xu
construction drawing: BANGSHE Deepen Design  
photographers: half half, INSPACE / Liu Xinghao, Hong Zhehao
built area: 18 sqm 
completion date: October 2023