A small patisserie on the ground floor of a retro apartment block along National Route 2, busy with cars and people, in Higashinada-ku, Kobe-shi, Hyogo.

In developing this design, we took into account the visibility from foot and car traffic on the road on the ground floor and searched for a facade allowing immediate recognition of the business type and character.

Further, as the owner-patissier sells goods personally, we were asked for an elegant interior design that enhanced the beauty of the goods without interrupting the line of sight between the kitchen space and the selling space so that they can be aware of what is happening in the shop at any moment.

When do people step into a patisserie? A birthday, Christmas, a gift for that special someone or a present for themselves … People visit the shop looking forward to the sweet smells before they see the sweets, do they not?

We created a design on the theme of a shop that would excite its visitors even more from the moment they step inside the doors until the time they leave with a little box in their hands.

For the entrance doors that form the face of the facade, glass doors in iron frames with delicate lines. For the curtain that is drawn when the shop is closed, a material with a rich texture and slight transparency. We calculated it so that when the shop is open, the folded curtains overlap the doors and present an attractive yet relaxed blue form.

The wooden counter, with details in the same taste as the facade, is a single L-shaped piece that operates as register, display area and showcase, allowing form and function to coexist within the compact interior without looking out of place.

Further, to enhance these, the walls, floor and ceiling were given a uniform, simple finish with plastering that allows visitors to feel the craftsmen’s handiwork.

Like the attraction of the sweets created by the owner-patissier, we believed that design methods that offered a view of artisanal skill would be more appropriate for the character of this shop than relying on flashy displays.

We finished the shop so that the space grants a sense of the owner-patissier’s care, while enabling the story of each person who visits.