Image Credit : JIA YUN LOU
Project Overview
Cuto Kids Cafe is a kids café with the theme of marine fantasy kingdom located in Marina Square. It is a wonderful space full of visual impact and vitality for kids and their families to play, eat and have fun.
The word ‘cuto’ is used in Spanish, is a general term meaning “cute”. ‘cuto’ means very smart, clever, a very nice person, that is how we wish all our mini visitors to be.
Project Commissioner
Project Creator
Team
THE STUDIO
ESTABLISHED BY INTERIOR ARCHITECT TIAN CHEN. THE STUDIO FOCUSES ON DELIVERING A BROAD RANGE OF CREATIVE PROJECTS. WE HAVE MANY YEARS EXTENSIVE PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE IN BOTH INTERIOR ARCHITECTURE AND ART PROJECTS INCLUDING COMPLETED WORKS IN THE HOSPITALITY, RESIDENTIAL, COMMERCIAL, INDUSTRIAL, PUBLIC AND ADAPTIVE REUSE SECTORS.
EVERY LIMITED SPACE AND SEEMLY IMPOSSIBLE DESIGN TASK IS A
CHALLENGE TO TIAN DESIGN. WITH OUR UNLIMITED CREATIVITY AND UNIQUE DESIGN CONCEPT, WE TURN THE IMPOSSIBILITIES INTO REALITIES.
Project Brief
When you enter the Cuto Kids Cafe, the most striking thing is the curve wall painted with the vibrant colours and the giant feature light with the theme of marine nature. The initial intention of designing Cuto Kids Cafe is to create a dream playground for kids, while parents can also enjoy such a unique and creative dining environment instead of just passing boring time.
In order to realize the design concept of 'Dream Kingdom', many marine animals and natural elements are incorporated into the design, such as the giant feature light composed of jellyfish, whales, sun, and clouds. The focus of this design is to make a fantasy feeling of marine animals flying in the sky. Each pattern is drawn by the designer TIAN, and customized through negotiation with the manufacturer. It inspires the imagination of the kids, and makes the parents impressed by kids' beautiful world. The whole space has balloon decoration lights, a large number of arc shapes, and entertainment themed spaces for kids at different ages. Whether you are a parent or a child, you can feel the sincerity of designers in every small details. No matter where you stand in Cuto, it will make you laugh and happy.
Project Innovation/Need
The most novel part is different from most of the traditional kids' cafes, which just provide a place for kids to play and a waiting space for parents to rest and eat. At the beginning of the design, one of our most important core ideas is how to make the kids feel like playing in the Dream Kingdom, and let the accompanying parents not only just sit and eat while waiting for kids, but also let them enjoy the design, and take a picture to have a good memory with our giant feature light on the background.
Design Challenge
In regard to the design challenge, the most difficult part should be the giant feature light specially designed, which is positioned above the middle Party area. The initial intention of designing this set of light is to make an impression to every family when they pass by or walk in. Considering that the size of the light is quite significant, even the smallest cloud shape is nearly 1000mm, and the largest whale shape is nearly 4000mm, so the pattern shape, materials, how to hang them, lighting and safety issues are all taken into account and finalized after multiple discussion and modification with the manufacturer and the builder. The most important thing is that the height and angle of each feature light must guarantee that the different views from the outside, the front door, or the side window of the shopping mall can make an impression to all guests.
Although this part of Feature light took a large amount of time for our design, after the opening every guest who passed by or came in for an experience could not help but admire when they saw our giant feature light. As the designers of Cuto, we feel that all our effort is worth it.
Sustainability
As this is a playground tailed for kids at different ages, the top priority of materials selection is environmentally friendly and its safety. Especially for the kids' play place, we use a lot of fabric materials to ensure the safety of kids. On the other hand, in addition to the curve shape designed for the space's shopfront, the theme concept of our Dream Kingdom will also be combined with many curve shapes to achieve. So how to achieve these curve shapes, and wear resistance is the second priority in materials selection. In addition to keeping the simplest timber & paint material in the arc shape, we also use some materials that are more durable and easier to maintain, such as the Corian stone is used in the arc shoe cabinet at the entrance, and the Quartz Carpet is used in the wall of entire shop front.
Interior Design - Hospitality - Eat & Drink
This award celebrates innovative and creative building interiors where people eat and drink - this includes bars, restaurants, cafes and clubs. Judging consideration is given to space creation and planning, furnishings, finishes, aesthetic presentation and functionality. Consideration also given to space allocation, traffic flow, building services, lighting, fixtures, flooring, colours, furnishings and surface finishes.
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