▲ Deep Sea Cafe © Wang Yixiang
The Deep Sea Cafe is situated in the Binjiang Junyuan area along Zhangguanying Road, Panlong District, Kunming City, Yunnan Province. Formerly the site of Zhangguanying Village and the Zhangguanying Old Goods Market, Binjiang Junyuan is one of the largest urban villages inside Kunming’s second ring road. Following urban village redevelopment, it has transformed into a large-scale planned residential community primarily for housing. The area is surrounded by several major urban complexes, primary and secondary schools, office buildings, and commercial districts, attracting a substantial young consumer base—ideal for supporting a brand-new experiential coffee shop.
▲ Entrance storefront © Wang Yixiang
The cafe occupies a street-facing ground floor apartment unit, previously used as a beauty salon. Although the location is not ideal for a city cafe, the owners are confident that a strong design concept combined with effective online marketing will generate ample foot traffic.
▲ First floor bar counter © Wang Yixiang
▲ First floor space © Wang Yixiang
The cafe’s name, “Deep Sea,” inspired the design team to explore the true essence of the deep sea. Rather than relying on the typical blue-themed references common in conventional design, the team delved deeper into why the deep sea appears blue. They discovered that seawater’s blue color results from the reflection of the sky combined with the transparent nature of water itself. Thus, the blue hue isn’t artificially created but emerges naturally through light and materials.
Guided by this concept, the designers removed the original ceiling and painted it blue to mimic the sky. The space below incorporates reflective and transparent materials—mirrors, metals, acrylics, and plastics—that subtly fill the interior with the deep sea’s blue ambiance. This nuanced approach avoids a simplistic design, instead immersing visitors in an authentic and ethereal underwater atmosphere.
▲ Second floor space © Wang Yixiang
▲ Second floor space © Wang Yixiang
▲ Second floor space © Wang Yixiang
▲ Second floor space © Wang Yixiang
In the main dining areas on both the first and second floors, the designers established a blue ceiling as the primary color tone. The rest of the space features a dynamic layering of materials: from opaque surfaces to mirrored reflections, brushed metal finishes, semi-transparent panels, diffuse materials, natural light from windows, and transparent furniture. This combination evokes the shimmering, rippling effect of the sea surface, making material selection and application a core focus of the design’s technical execution.
▲ Bathroom © Wang Yixiang
Opaque surfaces utilize common white latex paint for the walls and slightly reflective white epoxy resin flooring. Reflective materials like brushed aluminum are applied to special components such as edge trims, baseboards, and the bar counter, enhancing the transitions between materials.
For semi-transparent elements, glass films were applied to exterior windows, and semi-transparent polycarbonate panels were installed in the staircase area, providing a balance between transparency and privacy.
Mirrors are extensively used to enlarge the sense of space and openness. Mounted on walls with multi-layered boards, the mirrors’ frames are concealed by LED light strips installed in hidden grooves, creating the illusion of floating mirrors. Both gray and blue mirrors emphasize reflections in the stairwell, where the interplay of multiple light sources and diffuse reflections of the blue ceiling produce a dreamlike atmosphere.
▲ Blue mirror reflection effect in stairwells © Wang Yixiang
▲ Staircase © Wang Yixiang
▲ Staircase © Wang Yixiang
▲ Staircase © Wang Yixiang
Additionally, the interior features abundant transparent furniture made of acrylic, inflatable plastic, and glass. These pieces unify the space’s expression of shimmering waves and transparency, reinforcing the deep sea theme.
▲ Transparent furniture interacting with light to evoke wave and transparency effects © Wang Yixiang
▲ Interior decorations enhance light, shadow, and transparency effects © Wang Yixiang
▲ Interior decorations enhancing light and shadow effects © Wang Yixiang
▲ Reading stand installation on the wall © Wang Yixiang
This innovative cafe transcends the traditional concept of a coffee shop, designed to accommodate the diverse leisure needs of modern urban dwellers. Beyond serving coffee, it functions as a multifaceted social space hosting dining, exhibitions, film screenings, gatherings, and community interactions. The flexible spatial layout encourages endless possibilities, avoiding rigid definitions to foster a vibrant hub for today’s young urban population.
© Wang Yixiang
Technical Drawings
▲ First floor layout plan
▲ Second floor layout plan
▲ Ground floor paving texture
▲ Second floor paving texture
▲ First floor ceiling layout
▲ Second floor ceiling layout
▲ First floor switch layout
▲ Second floor switch layout
▲ First floor socket layout
▲ Second floor socket layout
▲ First floor elevation view
▲ First floor elevation view
▲ Second floor elevation view
▲ Second floor elevation view
▲ Second floor elevation view
▲ Staircase elevation view
▲ Glass-shaped stairwell elevation
▲ Staircase drawings
▲ Bar drawing
Project Information
Project Name: Deep Sea Cafe
Architectural Firm: Pingjie Design (Suzhou Pingjie Architectural Technology Co., Ltd.)
Office Website: www.paralleliz-design.com
Email Contact: __AI_C_SC_0_ parallelized-design.com
Lead Designer: Yang Nan
Design Team: Lu Yunlong, Wu Yi, Song Zhengwei, Peng Min, Gao Jian
Project Address: Shop No. 10, Building 25, Junyuan, Binjiang (BIM Tutorial), Zhangguanying Road, Panlong District, Kunming City, Yunnan Province
Completion Year: 2018
Building Area: 164 square meters
Photographer: Wang Yixiang
Other Participants: Yunnan Fulong Design Firm Co., Ltd.
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