Project Name: Blue Bottle Coffee Toyosu Park Cafe

Location: Tokyo, Japan

Design Team: Schemata Architects

Size: 279.37 m²

Completion Date: August 2024

Photographer: Takumi Ota

Feature：

Project - Nestled along the waterfront of Tokyo Bay, Blue Bottle Coffee's latest cafe reimagines the relationship between architecture, public space, and urban landscape. Designed by Jo Nagasaka of Schemata Architects, the Toyosu Park Cafe breaks down traditional boundaries between interior and exterior, creating a fluid spatial experience that seamlessly integrates with its surrounding park environment.

The 300-square-meter structure challenges conventional cafe design through its innovative approach to scale and connectivity. Rather than imposing a singular, monolithic volume, the architects have composed the cafe as a cluster of human-scaled "huts" that nestle gently into the open park landscape. This deliberate fragmentation allows the building to feel both intimate and expansive, blurring the lines between built form and public space.

A key design strategy lies in the gradational approach to spatial experience. The architects have transformed the entire park into a potential cafe environment, with carefully designed transitional spaces that flow between outdoor, semi-outdoor, and indoor zones. Extensive use of glass and FRP (Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic) creates a translucent envelope that allows uninterrupted views of Tokyo Bay while bathing the interior in soft, diffused light.

The interior is equally thoughtful, with varying ceiling heights creating distinct zones that support different social interactions. The high-ceilinged Cafe 2 features community tables that encourage social engagement, while the lower-ceilinged Cafe 1 offers more intimate seating with panoramic views of the park and sea.

Materiality plays a crucial role in the design, with bricks extending both inside and outside to eliminate spatial boundaries. Cantilevered FRP tables connected to structural columns further blur the distinction between architecture and furniture, creating a holistic design approach that celebrates connection and fluidity.

Design Team - Schemata Architects, established in 1998 by visionary architect Jo Nagasaka, has emerged as one of Japan's most innovative architectural practices, consistently pushing the boundaries of spatial design through a distinctive methodology that bridges conceptual thinking with hands-on materiality.

Founded upon graduating from Tokyo University of the Arts, Nagasaka's studio has evolved into a multidisciplinary powerhouse, orchestrating projects across architectural, interior, and furniture design. The practice, headquartered in Tokyo's Sendagaya district, operates under a philosophy that emphasizes 1:1 scale thinking—an approach that treats every project, regardless of scale, with the same rigorous attention to detail and spatial relationship.

Under Nagasaka's leadership, the firm has garnered international recognition for its adaptive reuse projects and retail environments, notably the globally acclaimed Blue Bottle Coffee outlets and the innovative DESCENTE BLANC retail concept. The practice's portfolio demonstrates exceptional versatility, from private residences like the minimalist Sayama Flat to institutional projects such as the Musashino Art University Building No.16.

Schemata's work is characterized by its material honesty, spatial fluidity, and innovative programming solutions. The firm's methodology often involves experimental material applications and creative space-planning strategies, resulting in environments that challenge conventional architectural paradigms while maintaining functional integrity. This approach has earned them numerous commissions for cultural institutions, retail brands, and private clients worldwide, establishing Schemata as a leading voice in contemporary architectural discourse.