在过去的几年里，喝咖啡的习惯已经逐渐深植在韩国文化中。以前，咖啡象征着一种上流社会经济背景下的奢华生活方式。如今，喝咖啡则成为人们日常生活必不可少的一环。
In the last few years, drinking coffee has firmly settled in Korean culture. Previously, coffee symbolized a posh lifestyle resulting from one’s high socio-economical background. Nowadays, drinking coffee is an indispensable ritual that we carry out daily.
▼俯视咖啡店门口露台，Overlooking the terrace in front of the cafe © Han Sung Hoon
在喧闹的首尔市的一间安静的小咖啡馆里，建筑师Lee Jin Kyung见到了ACOFFEE的首席咖啡师。在不到3平方米的狭小空间里，咖啡师认真倾听顾客讲述故事的同时，手上的动作依然精准、神情泰然自若。在这短暂的时间里，这华丽的表演混淆了人们的空间意识，让人仿佛置身于一场脱口秀表演的观众席前排，而舞台上的咖啡师则化身为一位经验丰富的演员，正进行着一场关于咖啡的独白，精彩的肢体动作让人们眼花缭乱。
Recently, I had a chance to meet the head barista of ACOFFEE at one quiet café in the buzzing city of Seoul. In a very tight space under three sq meters, the barista moved precisely with poise while carefully listening to customers’ stories at the bar. In that brief period, his performance soon bewitched my spatial awareness. He made me believe that I was sitting in the front row of a stand-up. The barista was a seasoned actor on a stage, dazzling before my eyes with his monologue of coffee brewing.
▼咖啡店外观，exterior view of the cafe © Han Sung Hoon
▼外观细部，detail of exterior © Han Sung Hoon
ACOFFEE的设计以空间的形式再现了建筑师脑中关于那场咖啡表演的记忆。与其为咖啡店找到一个刻意的定位，不如将空间作为咖啡师感官的自然延伸，将这里化作观看咖啡表演的剧院。设计中的每一个细微之处都嵌入了咖啡师的独到哲学，从长长的吧台到各式各样的座椅都为顾客们创造出剧场般的沉浸式体验。走进咖啡店的那一刻，就为一场关于咖啡的独白拉开了序幕。
The design of A COFFEE embodies my memory of his coffee making monologue in a spatial form. Instead of instilling the identity of a café, space is a natural extension of the barista: a theatre. The design embeds every nuance of his expressions for creating a theatre-like experience: from the long length of the bar to the seat types. The very moment of walking into ACOFFEE is a prologue to the soliloquy of his coffee.
▼咖啡店内概览，overall of cafe interior © Han Sung Hoon
▼由吧台内看咖啡店入口，viewing the entrance from the counter © Han Sung Hoon
▼几乎与室内空间等长的吧台，The bar counter is almost as long as the interior space © Han Sung Hoon
▼不同高度的台面形成不同的功能区域，Table tops of different heights form different functional areas © Han Sung Hoon
▼吧台旁的座椅，seating beside the bar counter © Han Sung Hoon
▼吧台台面与座椅细部，details of the counter and the seatings © Han Sung Hoon
▼金属柜门细部，details of the metal cabinet door © Han Sung Hoon
