- Project: ido & Friends Café
- Architect: Aurora Design
- Location: China, Kunming, Yunnan
- Year: 2023
- Area: 70 m2
- Photography: INSPACE
Located in the heart of Kunming, ido & Friends Café by Aurora Design is a compact 753-square-foot venue that blends Bauhaus principles with contemporary coffee culture. More than just a café, it serves as an inclusive meeting place where creatives, digital nomads, and everyday visitors can connect, work, and exchange ideas.
Concept and Inspiration
The design concept draws inspiration from European coffeehouses of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, where artists and intellectuals gathered in open, friendly spaces. The Bauhaus movement, particularly Walter Gropius’s 1919 manifesto, also served as a key reference point. Bauhaus’ philosophy of erasing boundaries between art, craft, and architecture resonates with the café’s mission of openness and collaboration.
Spatial Layout and Design Features
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Street Connection: A glass façade connects the interior to the street, while recessed corner entrances double as outdoor seating zones, encouraging interaction with the urban fabric.
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Seating and Circulation: Long wooden benches line the glass wall, paired with custom circular coffee tables. This arrangement maximizes space, ensures fluid movement, and creates a dynamic play of horizontal and vertical elements.
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Display and Storage: A three-tiered wooden cabinet with a sliding metal mechanism holds coffee cups, magazines, and audio equipment, turning storage into an aesthetic feature.
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Reading Corner: Books and magazines provide a tranquil retreat, offering guests a mental escape within the café’s warm, coffee-scented atmosphere.
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Glass Brick Partition: A horizontal glass brick wall subtly separates public café seating from semi-private workspace areas, balancing transparency with zoning.
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Work Zones: Elevated office areas include stone steps, linear desk lighting, and open shelving. These spaces cater to digital nomads and collaborative projects, further reinforcing the café’s hybrid identity.
Bauhaus Spirit in Contemporary Form
Aurora Design carefully translated Bauhaus ideals into the café’s details:
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Geometry & Simplicity: Neutral tones—coffee, black, and white—dominate the palette, emphasizing clarity and restraint.
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Custom Furniture: Chairs inspired by the Bauhaus font’s “A” introduce geometric boldness, reinforcing visual identity.
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Flat Surfaces & Interlocking Boards: Wooden finishes highlight planar simplicity, echoing Bauhaus’ aesthetic of functional elegance.
Atmosphere and Experience
Ido & Friends is more than a café—it’s a cultural hub. By combining the aroma of specialty coffee with design elements rooted in modernist tradition, the space creates an atmosphere where creativity and community thrive. Visitors can sip coffee in sunlight, read quietly, or collaborate with colleagues, evoking the spirit of mid-century European cafés in Paris, Venice, or Barcelona.
Through thoughtful design and brand alignment, Aurora Design transformed a small urban space into an inviting multifunctional café that embodies both the Bauhaus ethos and the social role of the modern coffeehouse. ido & Friends Café demonstrates how architecture can cultivate creativity and connection in everyday life.
