Studio MVW’s Aoyama Lab dessert bar channels French design in Beijing

Studio MVW – made up of French architect Virginie Moriette and Chinese designer Xu Ming – has designed the Aoyama Lab Dessert Bar, opening in Beijing. Using interior surroundings to enhance culinary experience, the Bar thoughtfully meshes the sensibilities of the duo’s contrasting heritages. The east-meets-west aesthetic is reimagined and subtly fused into their sculptural work.
Aoyama Lab serves a selection of sophisticated desserts based on innovations on traditional Japanese recipes, from choux buns and Aoyama rolls to two kinds of Mille Crepe. The mentalities of experimentation and modernisation channelled through the desserts are reflected in Studio MVW’s designs. The exterior advertises the dessert bar (known in its name as a ‘lab’) as something more akin to a ‘high-tech oasis’ through sleek, metallic lines. The use of glass and mesh is prominent, emphasising a sense of lightness and transparency, an homage to the meticulously layered desserts sold at the lab.
The concept of the dessert bar is decidedly novel – it is separated into a front and back section, with each serving different purposes. The front functions normally as a dessert shop, where the customer can purchase and sample the rich variety of treats on offer. As you retreat to the back, you discover a sanctuary dedicated to tea drinking, where the incorporation of natural materials like wood and stone soften the otherwise stark space.
Studio MVW chose celadon as the primary colour scheme. The subtle green is reminiscent of jade pendants traditionally worn around the neck for good luck. The integration of natural hues with the clean, almost industrial Kubrick-esque shapes display an example of the beautiful coexistence of nature with modernisation.
INFORMATION
For more information, visit the Studio MVW website
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
-
Puiforcat brings something new to the table with a wooden cutlery set
Jasper Morrison's collection for Puiforcat features cherry wood cutlery finished with fuki-urushi lacquering, a first foray into wood for the silverware company
-
A clifftop Rethymno house tells a story, framing views as far as the Libyan Sea
This house in Rethymno on the Greek island of Crete, designed by architects Gkotsis Serafimidou, is rich in local and natural materials – an oasis at which to disconnect
-
Waldorf Astoria Maldives rolls out a rare Ferrari joyride for guests
Waldorf Astoria Maldives, in partnership with Hedley Studios, allows guests to test-drive a scaled-down, all-electric version of Ferrari’s 250 Testa Rossa
-
Yauatcha’s bespoke mooncakes mark the start of delicious celebrations for Mid-Autumn Festival
Yauatcha, London’s Chinese dim sum teahouse, celebrates Mid-Autumn Festival (17 September) with three flavours of limited-edition mooncakes
-
The Chuan Malt Whisky Distillery by Neri & Hu offers a twist on Chinese tradition
Neri & Hu designs headquarters for The Chuan Malt Whisky Distillery in China's Sichuan province
-
OMA drinks outside the box with coffee KUBE at K11 Musea
Those yearning for coffee along Hong Kong’s Victoria Dockside now need only look for the golden cube
-
Shanghai continues to break new ground in coffee culture with experiential boutique
-
Po's Atelier bakery and café, Hong Kong
-
21 Cake, China’s first luxury cake maker