The Impact of Reason and Sensibility

Origami Bar is located on Middle Huaihai Road near the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, the owner is a young man with a perfect score of "alcoholism". After quitting his job and looking back on his rich life experiences, he had the idea of opening a bar. He wanted to create a unique space where friends who share the same love of life and alcohol can come together and share their lives together.

The name "Origami" is derived from a video of paper airplanes, which carry a wealth of symbolism. They seem to be simple, but they contain different experiences for each person. Some people fly high in the high light of day, enjoying the pleasure of traveling with the wind; some people fall in the trough, experiencing the difficulty of rising up against the wind. This is just like each of us, our hearts are like a piece of origami, with multiple facets, hiding a variety of sweet and sour, bitter and salty stories. And the bar is a place to provide emotional exchanges and catharsis, so it is called "Origami".

As the owner described his conceptualization process to us, a corresponding picture of the space gradually emerged in our minds. People who love to drink, they often come with a wealth of emotions and moods of their own, and these qualities are the most natural and wonderful decorations. Therefore, we wanted to keep the space design as restrained and rational as possible, and use it as a pure container. We borrowed the shape of origami and incorporated geometric triangular elements into the design of the space.

The yellow metal panels on the facade need to be retained as the entire building is a historic preservation structure. While we do not fully understand the need to retain this late addition to the structure, it is a property management requirement and we are not authorized to make changes to it. On this basis, we have reduced the size of the main entrance and added a section of partition wall to eliminate the yellow metal panels from visually interfering with the entrance area. The area to the left of the partition wall was planned as a smoking area, while the right side served as the entrance to the bar. By reducing the scale of the entrance, the area is made more private and attractive. Above the entrance, an orange breathing circular soft film light with a constant on mode is designed to attract pedestrians to stop and provide a warm visual sensation for them at night. The glass window area on the right side of the facade is subdivided into two parts, with seating for pedestrians to stop for a short time, while customers can enjoy the relaxing outdoor atmosphere with a glass of wine, reinforcing the coherence of the indoor/outdoor space and the overall interactivity of the environment.

The overall shape of the interior and the materials in the space are designed with origami as the core to ensure the coordination and unity of the space. Even the furniture, wall lamps and other furnishings in the space are designed with the element of triangles to strengthen the visual coherence.

The design of the ceiling molding aims to hide the M&E equipment such as air conditioning and lighting as much as possible, while showing the texture of the building itself. We chose to expose part of the original beams so that the ceiling design achieves the most simple and direct effect. In the ceiling design, we used the shape of origami structure, and through the combination of the shape and the lighting, the light and shadow also show the geometric form of triangles. This design not only creates a rich sense of spatial hierarchy visually, but also effectively integrates the building system functionally, ensuring the integrity and aesthetics of the space.