FATFACE COFFEE 3.0 — Baicai Design

Project

Retail
Cultural
Restaurants and Bar
Cafe and Bakery
Other

FATFACE COFFEE 3.0

Fatface 3.0 is a new store designed by Baicai for Fatface Coffee, located on Yunji Street in Shenyang. As a local boutique coffee shop, Fatface pursues an attitude and quality deeply rooted in its brand values, aiming to create a local coffee culture with an urban vibe.

Project Info:

Status: built, 2022
Area: sqm
Client: FATFACE
Location: Shenyang
Photography: Topia Vision

The design embeds brand values into the space, proposing "Be Your Own Rebel" as the overarching theme woven throughout every thread. Rebellion is often labeled with negative connotations. In an era of conformity, what we may need is a spontaneous, positive form of rebellion. In today's society, the simple freedom to be oneself has already become an act of rebellion. To choose, after experience and understanding, to remain a rebel true only to oneself—that is a settled persistence and courage. Through this space, we hope to convey the brand's attitude.

The project is situated on a leafy side street. The original structure was a 50-square-meter single-story extension at the corner of two old residential buildings. We aimed to express the spirit of positive rebellion in both architecture and interior, packing rich content into a compact footprint. We preserved portions of the original exterior walls and constructed a new volume from within as the spatial carrier of the shop. Visually, the architecture appears as a force in the midst of growth—frozen at the very instant it presses against the surrounding walls—engaging in a dialogue of harmonious tension with its context.

The rebellion of the interior manifests in its variability and flexibility—using simplicity to confront complexity. In the spatial layout, we followed principles of flexibility, disassemblability, and transformability to endow the space with multiple functions, creating a strong centripetal focus while maintaining a sense of openness. Most importantly, the space is designed to foster human connection and conversation.

In pursuit of the ultimate expression, decoration is stripped to the bare minimum—only off-white walls remain—allowing the compositional relationships within the space to be fully revealed. This minimalist backdrop accentuates the angled windows, drawing visual focus outward to the contrast between the old buildings, the sky, and the interior, while light and shadow articulate the beauty of materials and details.

When the furniture is clustered into a single island counter, the 6-meter-long, 1.5-meter-wide surface commands absolute visual presence, offering guests a dramatic, interactive spatial experience. This configuration can host training sessions, small coffee tastings, and the clean walls also allow the space to function as a gallery for rotating mini-exhibitions. When the furniture is dispersed, the layout accommodates more customers while offering greater privacy than the first arrangement. In either state, a generously proportioned fixed bar counter is retained for baristas to work and engage with guests, making the space a warm, welcoming place for exchange.

More important than facing environmental challenges may be facing the challenge of oneself. We hope this space allows people to forget the space itself and notice the essential message within—conveying uncompromising persistence, a positively "rebellious" attitude, and the exploration of reasonably overturning conventions, all within a boundary-free setting.

About

Baicai Design is a multidisciplinary design practice based in New York and Shenyang, working across architecture, interiors, exhibitions, and spatial design. Its practice spans different geographies, scales, and cultural contexts.

Founded by Kaiwen Zhao, Baicai is shaped by his interdisciplinary background in design and architecture. Zhao studied Industrial Design at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and Architecture at the Yale School of Architecture. He currently teaches in the Department of Industrial Design at RISD, and has previously taught at the University of Colorado Denver, lectured at NYU Tisch School of the Arts, and served as a guest critic at Syracuse University.

Baicai approaches space beyond the conventional boundaries of interior design, bringing together architectural and product design thinking to address spatial questions. Through different scales of intervention, we explore the relationships between space, objects, and human behavior.

Awards

FRAME Wellness Space of the year Shortlisted
2026

Paris Design Awards Winner
2026

MUSE Design Awards Gold Winner
2026

Dezeen China Rising Firm of the Year
2025

POSITION Award China Best 100 Young Architect
2024

Guangzhou Design Week 40 Under 40
2024

AD China 100 YOUNG
2022-2024

Architizer Best Young Interior Design Firm Special Mention
2024

Forbes China 30 Under 30
2023

FRAME Small Residential of the year Shortlisted
2023

FRAME Award Best Emerging Designer Nominee
2023

APIDA Design Award Excellence Award
2023

FRAME Pop-up Store of the Year
2022

FRAME Window Display of the Year Shortlisted
2022

WYDF TOP 100 Designer
2022

Dezeen Award Shortlisted
2022

Architecture Masterprize Best of The Bests
2022

AD China 100 YOUNG
2020-2022

Architecture Masterprize Honorable Mention
2022

KUKAN Design Award Shortlisted
2022

DNA Award Winner in Workplace Design
2022

DNA Award Honorable Mention in Workplace Design
2022

DNA Award Honorable Mention in Showroom Design
2022

K-Design Award Winner
2022

Novum Design Award Gold Award
2022

Novum Design Award Silver Award
2022

IDA Design Award Honorable Mention
2022

FRAME Best of the Month
2022 April

Design for Asia Award Bronx Award
2021

Design for Asia Award Excellence Award
2021

IDEA Design Award Finalist
2021

Golden Pin Design Award Winner
2021

Golden Pin Design Award Honorable Mention
2022

Vestibulum Inceptos Gravida, Ornare Review,
by Tincidunt Nisl
2024

Ullamcorper Faucibus (Congue) Euismod, by Ligula Parturient, Bibendum Review Porta Libero
2023

Dictumst Tristique, Facilisis Magazine, Edition Two, Porta Libero
2021

Auctor Adipiscing Art Magazine, Porta Libero
2020

Sollicitudin Ornare Magazine,
Porta Libero
2020

Press