Silver Lining

Around midnight on September 21, 1999, the Jiji Earthquake struck the whole Taiwan severely. The great earthquake not only claimed many lives and families, it also shattered the plantations most local farmers depend on financially: Betel nut trees and fields were ruined in just one night. As a betel nut farmer back in the days, the owner surprisingly found a coffee tree standing still among the ruins when he was wandering in the fields. Consequently, the survived coffee tree staying so strong as the first to sprout, motivates and inspires the owner of the shop, which as well leads the locals to a better future. Believing the coffee tree as the message of hope, the owner persisted with the coffee beans planted in Taiwan Nantou’s mountains and won the certification from the Coffee Quality Institute, shining bright on the international stage. The designer thus takes this story as an inspiration, merging the concept of hope, blooming of dreams into the design of this coffee shop. The overall layout of the space is divided into two areas: a coffee shop at the front with a bar and drinking area; a processing area at the back with reception, media room, DIY, and packaging. Once entering the space, one can immediately see the dark pastel blue smeared all over, with some bright wooden material to calmly infuse a fluid energy into the space. The gray shade of blue applied in the shop combines both the persistence and faith of gray color with the everlasting hope from the symbolic essence of blue. The environment’s atmosphere is toned with the simple yet powerful color palette. The wooden decoration on the ceiling swirls as if a new sprout of a coffee tree, flowing with a sense of vitality and encouragement in between the turns. The design extends to the bar area and the wall-mounted display shelving where they visually and symbolically represent the blossom and the bearing fruit of the tree, of the dream they hold.