japanese café by arii irie architects is organized around a huge terrazzo table

nagasawa coffee is a roastery located in morioka, a city in the tohoku region in northeastern japan.

ARII IRIE ARCHITECTS edited by cristina gomez January 16, 2019 2 min

nagasawa coffee is a coffee roastery located in morioka, a city in the tohoku region in northeastern japan, designed by arii irie architects. the owners decided to move their shop to a larger space to fit in their new 1960s vintage roaster — their vision of the new project was an open workshop space. as the main element of the café, arii irie architects designed a 6-meter long and 1.5-meter wide terrazzo table.

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the table is made of terrazzo
all images © kai nakamura

the centerpiece is intended as both a table to sit at and an active tabletop where unroasted, roasted, and packaged beans are placed together, showcasing the live sequence of the roasting process. the height of the table is kept low, in order to lower the eyelevel in relation to the 2.8-meter high ceiling.

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the table serves as a display as well

the table looks somewhat like a podium or a runway because of its length, but also like a wall because of the distance it creates between each side. small shops like nagasawa coffee play a significant role in the urban cultural scene in a provincial city like morioka. as much as an interior element, the large table is designed as a piece of urban furniture.

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the 1960s vintage roaster sits next to the entrance

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the round tables by the large window maintain the minimalistic spirit

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the table is 6 meters long

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the counter made of mineral bonded wood wool boards gives a sense of raw materiality

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the horizontalness of the table and counter creates a continuity of space from the street

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the table, the bench and the counter

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the table seen from the street

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the view from the street

project info:

name: nagasawa coffee

architects: arii irie architects

location: morioka, japan

photography: kai nakamura

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