Taste Studio pays tribute to the art of coffee roasting with Paga cafe

A white building behind a tree

Interior design studio Taste Space designed this roastery and cafe in Bangkok to take customers on a journey from coffee bean roasting to cup. 

The Bangkok-based studio drew on the process of coffee roasting to inform its design of the three-storey roastery in the Watthana district of Thailand’s capital.

People sitting in a white cafe
Top: Paga is located on the corner of a busy street in Bangkok. Above: the roastery is spread over three floors

Spread out over three floors on the corner of a tree-lined street, Paga  takes cues from the mountains where coffee originates from.

“Paga micro-roastery is inspired by ‘the mountain’ where coffee beans are cultivated, in order to pay tribute and advocate the long and fascinating process of micro speciality coffee,” said Taste Space founder Kijtanes Kajornrattanadech.

Barrista pours coffee at Paga roastery
Baristas and customers are encouraged to interact with each other over the large counter

The top floor, which is meant to represent the mountain’s peak, is reserved for coffee bean storage and a space to hold coffee workshops.

The floor below is split into two rooms: one features grey chairs and tables for customers, while the other has a machine for coffee roasting.

Woman walking through Paga cafe
Paga is covered in a neutral, off-white colour

Thanks to the double-height levels, customers are able to see through the glass windows into the roastery room from every vantage point in the cafe.

“The roastery is an important process of making coffee, therefore we designed this part to be seen from every corner of the cafe,”  Kajornrattanadech told Dezeen.

“We designed the roastery room with an all-glass wall to make it visible but prevent people interrupting while the roasters make coffee,” he explained.

Taste Space paid close attention to the technical requirements needed for roasting coffee here. To control the level of direct sunlight in the room, the designers chose to keep the room windowless.

A bright white light was added to help employees check the colour of the coffee beans while natural light enters from the windows on the ground floor.

Seats, tables and a bench inside the cafe
The first floor features additional for customers to enjoy coffees

The spacious, off-white ground floor is arranged around a large, curved counter. The designers enlisted the help of the local baristas to design this counter bar.

“The highlight is a solid triangular coffee bar that gives lots of space for baristas to perform and communicate micro coffee culture with customers in friendly proximity,” said Kajornrattanadech.

“We worked closely with the barristers to design the counter bar,” he continued. “We wanted to help the barristers work smoothly and perform well while the customer who is sitting at the counter bar can enjoy the performance of dripping coffee.”

Coffee roastery in Bangkok
A roasting room can be seen from all corners of the cafe

An array of stools and small tables around the edges of the building provide customers with places to sit and enjoy their coffees. Vast floor to ceiling windows provides drinkers with views onto the bustling Bangkok street outside.

“We designed the peaceful environment in an off-white colour to encourage customers to enjoy and focus on their cups without other distractions,” said Kajornrattanadech.

Paga cafe in Bangkok
Paga mirrors the structure of a mountain

Further touches are designed to allude to the coffee mountain such as a rough-textured paint which was used on the walls and the curvy ceiling design.

Other coffee shops in Bangkok include % Arabica cafe by Austrian architecture studio Precht. Situated in the largest shopping centre in the Thai capital, the cafe houses 7,000 handmade bricks which are used on the floors, walls and stepped seating.

Photography is by Jinnawat Borihankijanan.

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