I IN Brings Thai Lantern Festival into Blue Bottle Coffee's First Bangkok Cafe

A large sculptural lantern suspended above the drip station anchors Blue Bottle Coffee's first Bangkok cafe, designed by Japanese studio I IN. The 178-square-metre interior draws on Thailand's traditional lantern festivals, in which thousands of paper lanterns are released skyward. Co-founder Yohei Terui said the aim was to translate the sensation of a floating lantern into the space in a contemporary manner, producing what the studio calls the Blue Lantern. Positioned where customers first enter, the installation was conceived from the outset to be as large and impactful as possible, serving as the store's symbol. Blue Bottle's signature blue covers the lantern and coffee counter, while pale blue elsewhere evokes both brand identity and sky. Gold accents entered the scheme after Terui walked through Bangkok and encountered striking gold tones across the city, a contrast he wanted to carry indoors. Teak, familiar in Thailand and especially the north, forms the furniture and fixtures. I IN's recent work includes the concrete Andersson Bell store in Tokyo and the tiled Human Made store in Seoul.