SSAP Coffee is a minimal cafe located in Ulsan, South Korea, designed by design by 83. The client asked the studio for a vintage and hip space. The designers wanted to convey a space where the history and traces of the original space can coexist. Despite the passage of time, the studio thought about the design with hopes that it would last and continue to deepen. In the process of demolishing the interior of the interior space, consisting of exposed rough concrete walls, worn-out floor tiles, cold metal windows and simple glass windows, almost all structural elements were intentionally left intact. The interior space is put together so that you can feel the natural changes of concise and physical properties by including relaxed arrangements and artificial decorations as much as possible. It creates a two-sided and harmonious atmosphere with the intention to feel visual comfort and cynicism simultaneously within the vertical line of warm wood and metal. It is also designed to form an organic relationship with this space form acrylic lighting.

The cafe uses a focal color of red for cabinets, chairs, bakery showcases, and raceways, where minor electric circuits pass. This takes into account the sensibility of the MZ generation, which is characterized by pursuing an unusual experience different from the existing trend, and at the same time, maintaining the familiarity and comfort for those who remember this place. The exterior is created so that it blends with the original old red brick. It emphasizes the neatness of the facade’s expansion of the horizontal long rectangular space and visually separates it with wood adding depth, and metalㅡa material that is unlikely to change. The main door where customers come in and the heavy doors installed for ventilation are made of zinc steel sheets. In addition, the windows with visible inside are closed with regular intervals of birch plywood, so that the inside atmosphere is naturally harmonized.

Photography by Kim Dongkyu