Office: Office AIO | ArchDaily

Nodi Cafe / Office AIO

韩爽 — Mon, 03 Jun 2024 20:00:00 +0000

Introducing a Fresh Narrative to a Lobby Cafe. In the heart of Shanghai's bustling Jing'an district, Nodi, a brand born from the rich tapestry of Hong Kong's coffee culture, unveils its latest creation. Nodi, deriving its name from the Latin word for "knot," embodies the spirit of connection—between people, places, and the passionate ritual of coffee. This young, artisan coffee brand has carved a niche for itself by transforming the simple act of drinking coffee into a conduit for human interaction and creativity. It makes its debut in the greater China region with its inaugural shop nestled within the iconic Jing'an Kerry Centre—just steps away from Vogue China’s headquarters. Surrounded by giants like Blue Bottle, %Arabica, Fuel, and Starbucks Reserve, Nodi introduces a fresh narrative to the coffee experience.

Pang Mei Noodle Bar / Office AIO

Valeria Silva — Mon, 18 Dec 2023 01:00:00 +0000

From bowls of noodles to grab-and-go desserts, Pang Mei Noodle Bar (“Pang Mei” translates to “chubby girl”) has mastered serving distinctive Sichuan dishes in Beijing. As an innovator in the restaurant business, the brand commissioned Office AIO again to design a novel experience for its latest venture. Located among the hutongs, the new restaurant sits on the ground floor of a commercial complex. The site shares an open-air yard with a few other office buildings. While the area benefits from a steady clientele of nearby office workers, it also attracts a growing number of museum and theatre goers from rising cultural establishments.

Paw Pets Spa / Office AIO

Pilar Caballero — Fri, 18 Aug 2023 20:00:00 +0000

Office AIO takes a stand on humane spaces for pets. With pet ownership on the rise, how can we holistically address animal welfare? When Office AIO was approached by the pet shop Paw, the team rethought how a commercial shop can use spatial design to speak about care for our little companions. Situated in a regeneration development of a residential area in Beijing, Paw adopts a corner of an existing single-story building facing the street. Office AIO transforms a previous management office into a retail shop that sells, grooms, and accommodates pets, from a quick check to a temporary "hotel" stay.

Fishtank Cafe / Office AIO

Collin Chen — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 01:00:00 +0000

Fishtank is not your typical cafe location. Tucked inside an arena in Nanjing, the site was previously a storage room. It sits between two overhanging bridges, faces a four-lane ring road, and looks across an under-podium parking zone. The facade was essentially the arena's exterior, painted cold grey, with black recess lines and punctures for service vents. When Office AIO was commissioned to design this undistinguished site, it took it as an opportunity to elevate the coffee shop from a neighborhood cafe to a recognized brand. The design team exploits the cloistered and tame site, conceiving an undisturbed world. A world much like a fish tank, contained by a "non-existent" facade but relishing its own sphere of habitat.

PageOne Store / OFFICE AIO

Collin Chen — Thu, 27 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A new PageOne recently establishes itself in the center of Beijing's Haidian directly adjacent to Wudaokou Subway Station. It is a district where some of the nation's brightest minds work and reside. In its vicinity are many elite high schools, universities, national research centers, and technology headquarters. Office AIO gives the bookseller a design that caters to its cerebral community. But it also redefines the plot with a civic underscore beyond the building's confine, a vision in which it acts as a social place that nourishes both book lovers and hurry-throughs with respect and openness to culture. 

Sage Bar / OFFICE AIO

Collin Chen — Fri, 14 Oct 2022 18:00:00 +0000

The square site of Sage Bar sits toward the end of an alley behind Chengdu's Western International Finance Centre (WIFC). To highlight the mixologist's herbal focus in his menu, OFFICE AIO conceived a split-level bar that culminates in a botanical centerpiece.

Chubby Girl Noodle Bar TKL / OFFICE AIO

Collin Chen — Tue, 26 Apr 2022 01:00:00 +0000

If a restaurant chain ever considers itself an active storyteller in the art and science of serving food-lovers, why stick to one identity? So often do chain restaurants play the safe route by sticking to one branded spatial design that looks the same everywhere. That isn't the case for Chubby Girl's Noodle Bar, whose specialty, Chongqing's local dish “xiaomian”, captures the hearts of many Beijingers. Its latest branch is an iteration of its aspirations as a passionate restaurateur. Though carrying on with crispness and openness, the new store is not a duplicate, and the executives returned to OFFICE AIO again for another complete design. The collaboration does not seek to adapt the previous one to the new venue, but expand on its last concept, to create a sequel. OFFICE AIO remains committed to the multilayered verticality of Chongqing's idiosyncratic cityscape. Albeit, with a new strategy, one that deftly creates an interplay of the cyber age's connectedness and the industrial physicality of the last century.

Elle Cafe / OFFICE AIO

Yu Xin Li — Wed, 21 Apr 2021 18:00:00 +0000

Designed by OFFICE AIO, Beijing's new fashion cafe is Elle Cafe's second location in China. With an inverted T-shaped floor plan, the designers conceived a French sidewalk dining experience inside a shopping mall.

Read and Rest Hotel / OFFICE AIO

Collin Chen — Fri, 04 Sep 2020 23:00:00 +0000

Hotel for the Senses and Mind
In the context of Beijing’s busy modern city life, Read & Rest Boutique Hotel at its core is an attempt at promoting a quality lifestyle that is balanced between feeding one’s curiosity (Read) and bringing calmness to one’s senses (Rest).

Basic Coffee / Office AIO

Collin Chen — Fri, 13 Dec 2019 02:00:00 +0000

Occupying a 30sqm corner of a restored historic building, Basic Coffee is a key tenant of a co-working hub with a goal to activate the newly gentrified commercial zone of XianYuKou, Beijing, through providing quality artisan coffee beverages to its neighbours and visiting tourists.

Big Small Coffee + B&B / Office AIO

杨奡 — Mon, 25 Jul 2016 20:00:00 +0000

Office AIO transforms tiny Hutong spaces into a serious coffee bar and B&B