Fluttering ribbons and fantasy mark Karv One Design's Vista Café project

The charm of a café or a restaurant lies as much in its interiors as in the hospitality and culinary experience it offers. Karv One Design channels this into the recently opened Vista Café, where fresh greens lace through a silvery white metallic mesh that sashays overhead its dreamy interiors. Located in Fuzhou, China, the café features a theme of “floating ribbons” which is reflected in its graceful layout.

“The strong visual tension of the design is inspired from the dramatic confrontation with memories, the tension that exists between imagination and everyday reality, bringing a brand-new sense of lightness and imagination to the café experience,” shares Kyle Chan, Founder of Karv One Design.

The suspended sculptural metal grid installation takes centrestage within the 930 sqm space, its flowy, lithe silhouette resembling a “fluttering ribbon in the wind". A gradient glass sits between the floor and the ceiling, reflecting the surfaces and materials, enhancing the dreamy vibe of the space and visually expanding it. Plants of various sizes add warmth, colour and vibrancy to the minimalism of the interior design, imagined as “a surreal, floating white garden for the city,” says Chan.

According to the Hong Kong- based studio, the main focus of the café design was to create an experience for those who step into it. “It is an experimental, thematic, ‘hang-out’ spot for people to spend time in. The initial goal was to extend visitors’ stay time, to create a café that is more than just a café. We wanted it to win a special place in people’s hearts and have it become a landmark of the city,” say the designers.

The wraithlike mesh ribbons float over the polished, white terrazzo flooring which is complimented by a linear lighting design, carving out niches and spotlights of refreshing spaces. The silvery simplicity of the space is broken by the plants and the dark moss green and light wood stools that sit around white tabletops and surfaces.

“Visitors flow inside the white garden, while the elements of water outside the space echo with the theme of the café. This creates a surreal, social media worthy spatial experience for them. The façade looks like a beautiful scenery by itself too,” says Chan.

The breezy quality of the Vista Café evocatively echoes a dreamlike passage of time, everything from its leafy sculptural ceiling, the milky flooring, the sparse furniture and the lighting inducing a lightness of being.

Project Details

Name: Vista Café
Location: Fuzhou, China
Client: Fuzhou Vanke
Area: 930 sqm
Year of completion: 2020
Designer: Karv One Design