Luneuers Alunissage Bakery

Luneuers Alunissage is inspired by the surge in domestic consumerism during the 60s and 70s. We took musings from prominent French design and culture during this era, from the fashion of Pierre Cardin to the furniture of Jean Prouve and movies such as La Boum. Through hours of research and refining we created a retro French home in the heart of Shanghai’s financial district.

The space is over 300m2 but it was important to retain the intimacy, warmth and community of other Luneurs venues. Leading us to create one concept, but two experiences, by creating varying zones typical of ones “home”, made up of two distinct spaces and atmospheres – extérieur and intérieur.

“exteriuer” we have the Patio, which includes a casual coffee/ bakery/ ice cream area. This space was designed to imitate an exterior environment, located as close as possible to the entry and limited natural light of the space. We lined this area with mirrored glazing/ frames to resemble a façade, but also to reflect as much light as we could deeper into the space. The custom furniture was inspired by 1950s era domestic patio furniture with its colorful patterned fabrics.

“intérieur” we have the home and living spaces, a more intimate environment for the restaurant which incorporates a living, study, dining and kitchen area. These spaces have their own distinct characteristics, and often subtle changes in flooring, wall or ceiling finishes and levels, creating slightly unique experiences depending on where the customer is seated. The living room is characterized by softer upholstered bench seats, sofas, rugs and chairs, with the introduction of smaller scale “furniture like” cabinetry. The study nook is a small area enveloped by dark burl cabinetry, library shelving and timber floors. The tables in the study area imitate desks, folded down from the cabinetry units along the side. Moving through the space, the customers then enter the dining area, characterized by a raised patterned floor, dining tables, retro pendant lights and clerestory windows. The dining space connects to the kitchen, both a practically operational space for plate preparation which also includes domestic height kitchen counters for customers to dine. The kitchen’s windows lead directly onto the actual commercial kitchen concealed behind.

The concept of home was used both as an aesthetic driver but it also helped solved challenges arising from the location and shape of the site itself. For a large space, the site had a very small façade with little natural light. Separating the two spaces allowed us to create a darker more ambient atmosphere in the restaurant space, more associated with the comforts and intimacy of home. By using cabinetry that was domestic in style and scale we were able to combat a lot of material restrictions due to fire requirements, as loose freestanding furniture could integrate wood, fabrics and softer furnishings we relate to our home environments.

Design: hcreates interior design
Design Team: Hannah Churchill, Alex Davies, Yicheng Zeng, Pony Tseng, Changwei Zhou
Contractor: Hengpin
Photography: Brian Chua