"Mapoly Coffee is more than just a café; it’s a fragment of my ideal city, a ‘Piazza in a Room”, says Yu Ting, chief architect of Wutopia Lab

Nestled within the Shanghai Historical Museum’s West Building, this project presented unique challenges and opportunities. The building, formerly stables of a horse racing hall, featured high, frosted windows that restricted natural light and exterior views. The café’s plan was also shaped like a knife-handle, adding another layer of complexity.

"The cultural heritage bureau required us to preserve the façade," Wutopia Lab’s Yu Ting explains. "This led me to consider the interior façade as exterior, effectively making the main space feel like an outdoor piazza." To tackle the dim interior and the central column, Yu Ting drew inspiration from European squares. "I wanted to create a cheerful communal space, a Shanghai café, by implanting an abstract square within the building," he notes, referencing Christopher Alexander’s "A Pattern Language."

The central pillar was transformed into a monument with a wishing pool, inscribed with a segment of the novel. Surrounding it, elements like stairs, a colonnade, a stage with a fireplace, and a glass box balcony create a dynamic environment. "I envisioned a place for flowers, coffee, wine, love, gossip, pets, stand-up comedy, music, and even tango," Yu Ting describes.

The entrance vestibule was reimagined as a porch, leading to the black bar area, the "knife handle" of the plan. An aisle became an exhibition and casual seating area, and a take-out area and small gallery were added in collaboration with the museum. A white colonnade leads to the main plaza, where the black bar is nestled, and low sofas line the outer wall, inspired by Istanbul’s hookah cafés. "Mapoly Coffee is a fragment of the miniature city I envision," Yu Ting states. "Scaled up, it is my ideal Shanghai."

Yu Ting emphasizes that his Shanghai is not minimalist. "It needs restrained decoration, markers of memories and symbolism." Tiles from the original stables were inlaid in the entrance gallery, and horseshoe symbols decorate the black bar’s arches. Enamel floor tiles, parquet flooring, and green handmade tiles create a sense of memory, dramatized by a stained-glass ceiling inspired by coffee cherries. Black wood covers the bar area, while white stone defines the entrance gallery and plaza. "Decoration is never a sin; it’s the little bit of meaning we need," he asserts.

Reflecting on the project, Yu Ting shares, "Creating this café fulfilled a dream from my youth." He imagines figures like Yakusho Hiroshi or Al Pacino improvising a tango in the space. "I want people to dance awkwardly and clumsily, with a sunny ceiling above, no matter the weather outside… Mapoly Coffee showcases the alternating day and night lifestyle, a clip of Shanghai in my eyes. It's a familiar and brave Shanghai that came crashing down on me, reminding me that Shanghai has always been alive.”