Project Overview

Glimmer Haven is a dessert shop located in Kinmen County, Taiwan. The aim of the project was to create a comfortable and relaxing space for local residents, with accessibility in mind. The designers blended wabi-sabi and minimalist styles and took into account elements that are adaptable to humid climates. The dessert shop offers a variety of seating options. The designers utilized innovative planning to create a different dining and social area. Curves trace the pathways, while warm, low-saturation colors create an experience that is both open and private.

Openness and connection are at the core. The S-shaped circulation promotes unrestricted exploration of all corners. Every area is connected to the nature outside. Different forms of seating arrangements provide a calm and relaxing experience. Whether it's a corner for quiet contemplation or an open area to share with friends, the venue caters to all.

Organisation

TL Design Build Corporation

Team

Cora Lu, Nora Chen

Project Brief

"It's a place where one can relax, have a cup of tea, meet, and enjoy the downshifting life."

An elegant white building stands in the background. Milky veils shield the eyes of pedestrians. Inside, the clear daylight jumps out. Transparent and half-height partitions create an unobstructed view. The designers used low-saturation earth tones with green to form the color plan. Smooth curves add an interesting visual surprise. Each seat is appropriately spaced and immersed in daylight. It's a perfect place to order tea and pastries and share a good time with others during a relaxing time.

In line with the owner's desire to bring a different kind of experience to the local people, the designers defined the appropriate place from the perspective of the local people. The aesthetics of wabi-sabi and the attitude of living with ease create a space that is both functional and aesthetically pleasing. The design team's insistence on details is hidden in every stroke and rhyme.

Project Innovation/Need

-Diversified options: Café is a commercial space where people stay for a long time. The designers created an open visual effect yet shaped the privacy of the space. In terms of layout, they arranged three different types of seating areas. The variety of options allows consumers to choose the seat according to the situation. In terms of size, the space is quite large in Kinmen. The designers kept the space for the consumers without pursuing the table turnover rate. The designers reduced the number of partitions and arranged a just-right sitting distance under a comfortable scale.

-Smooth S-shaped circulation: Taking a cue from the wabi-sabi style, the designers used curves to construct the flow and applied warm colors with low saturation as the base. In particular, the S-shaped half-height maintains a sense of openness, provides visual privacy, and creates a smooth S-shaped circulation.

Design Challenge

As Kinmen is separated from Taiwan by a strait, materials can only be transported by air or sea. During the construction period, the foggy and rainy seasons caused many delays, testing the designer's flexibility in program deployment.

The humid climate in the area made building materials and construction methods even more critical. In particular, wall coverings and timber had to be considered for their moisture and humidity resistance. Designers have even installed intelligent dehumidifiers, covered with special paints and stone plastic composite flooring to enhance moisture resistance and stability.

Sustainability

The building materials are all in line with green building standards. For example, the walls are covered with formaldehyde-free and lead-free eco-friendly artistic paint, which is friendly to the environment and positively impacts indoor air quality maintenance. Stone plastic composite is a durable and environmentally friendly material that combines PVC and stone powder. It has a low expansion rate and high moisture resistance, making it suitable for the humid climate in Kinmen.

For lighting, the original large-area glass windows are retained to ensure natural lighting and reduce the need for artificial lighting during the day, thus saving energy. The double-layered, recessed circular ceiling design enhances the visual comfort of the interior and connects with the natural environment. During the construction period, many cabinets were minimized and replaced with ready-made wooden furniture to reduce the carbon footprint.