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A Cultural Standpoint promotion of such renovations on social
media is actually worrying to Ma. “On one
In Atelier Lai, it is believed that de- hand, it is easy to copy, so there will be
sign concepts should be built on a certain many such commercial projects in similar
cultural standpoint, as an exploration to styles,” he pointed out. “On the other
make the design last into the future. “For hand, if you want the structure to have a
example, if you pay attention to how Chi- long lasting value there, which is scarce,
nese drink coffee, you will realize that we it should maintain its own cultural depth
have our own ways to consume coffee, not as well.”
like the Westerners, nor built on their In Ma’s view, it’s good to convert
traditions. However, it is not a Chinese ancient houses in a bid to promote local
tradition but a brand new culture booming culture and history, but the designer
in the modern East,” Ma explained. Such should continue their exploration in in-
thinking allows him and the team to seek novation based on respect and creative
a proper presentation of the coffee culture thinking, otherwise, it will be just like a Atelier Lai
that is bred by the locals nowadays through flash in the pan.
the design language. “It’s not a background for pho- Established in 2013, Atelier Lai
As ancient buildings become popular tography.” Many coffee shops are popu- provides one-stop solutions in
types of sites to be converted into com- lar online for an Instagrammable decor as design and architecture, ranging
mercial projects like coffee/tea shops, Ma there are tons of photos from a similar from project plan, feasibility
report, interior design,
agrees that it is already a trend, “Those angle scattered in every corner of social landscape design to construc-
buildings are no longer suitable for people media. “I don’t think it is wise to design tion. It is known for design and
to live in due to the heat-insulation and any coffee space into a scene just for renovation projects of
sound-proof problems. But they can be photography,” Ma argued. “If so, the struc- traditional Chinese residence
renovated into a business space under ture and space is just a kind of background houses.
atelier-lai.com
certain cultural scenes.” The eye-catching of a stage.” A well-designed coffee shop

should be able to provide customers an
overall immersive experience, where they
can kill time or explore as they like. “There
are too many coffee shops paying attention
to their presence online, which makes them
get lost, forgetting the core of being offline
as a store,” he said.
Ma shares his understanding of de-
sign which should have two meanings:
First, whether it conveys the owner’s idea
correctly and aesthetically; Second,
whether it helps the owner understand
their own preferences and expresses their
concept better and deeper.
“Being trendy is not a cure for all.”
‘Trend’ in design is not always the best
approach as trend itself is like a FMCG
product, which comes and goes quickly. “A
structure, or house, will be there for de-
cades or hundreds of years; it needs a design
that matches its ‘age’, or as we say, intelli-
gence density,” Ma concluded.
T Roof (Photo / Yilong Zhao)

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