T · CAFE is a self-service cafe in T · PARK, a sludge treatment facility and an environmental education center in Tuen Mun. The facility embodies the “waste-to-energy” vision and seeks to educate the public through its spatial design.
We learned about the availability of fender wood from the demolished Wan Chai Pier at the beginning of the design process. Wan Chai Pier was once the main transportation connecting Kowloon and Hong Kong Island and the fender wood had been immersed in water for more than 40 years. We believe that they are useful materials that can be transformed into beautiful public furniture.
Collaborating with Master Wong from Chi Kee Sawmill Timber Factory, we cut the long, hard fender into smaller logs. Different parts of the wood were then examined to determine the furniture design: the most intact ones were sculpted as dining tables and long benches; moderately eroded ones were used for coffee tables and short benches; those that were seriously decayed were used for stools and “Ocean Cubes,” where the ocean-blue resin was added to preserve the eroded logs. By transforming the fender wood into public furniture, T · CAFE also preserves an important piece of memory in Hong Kong’s collective history.
Whether an object is obsolete or useful depends on one’s perspective. We believe that design has the power to both transform materials and shift perspectives.
Japan Good Design Award
Best 100 and Jury's Favourite
German iF Design Award
Winner
DFA Design for Asia Award
Bronze
Design Anthology
Sustainability
Asia Pacific Interior Design Award
Gold
Interior & Furniture Design; Contracting & Fabrication.
2017
Tuen Mun, Hong Kong
3,000 sqft
Environmental Protection Department, HKSARG
Milkxhake, STYLO VISION, Studio 818, Chi Kee Sawmill, CKK, Cowin, CFSC, FMCC, FYK
Chun Hang Yip, Otto Ng, Jesse Hao, Zion Chan, Kenneth Cheung, Tat Lau, Carolyn Tam, Happy Yam, Ricci Wong, Joanne Clark, Hon Chan, Catherine Cheng, Jason Choi, Daisy Lam, Kelvin Lam, Li Yuen Lung, Tyrus Lui, Anson Ma, Hugo Ma, Phoebe Ng, CK Wong