Okkio, Nguyễn Siêu, Saigon – Vietnam

Okkio is a boutique coffee brand in Sai Gon. As a follow-up to the project RED5 designed three years ago, our team has surveyed and considered how to maintain the brand’s identity. Additionally, the use of color and light is highlighted to make a strong impression on everyone.
Okkio was inspired by Wong Kar-Wai, a famous Hong Kong director. The design of this project is primarily influenced by the film 2046, directed by Mr. Wong, which explores the concept of a return train from the year 2046. If Okkio Xuan Thuy was the beginning of the film, Okkio Nguyen Sieu is designed based on the movie’s climax, where time begins to intertwine chaotically. Okkio train is in a futuristic landscape that takes passengers to a place where they can recapture their memories, from which no one has ever returned.
The site plan is located on the ground floor but it looks like an old basement with a low ceiling, multi-beam, and columns, and it lacks natural light. However, our team has applied those characteristics to turn this “underground” into a space with strips of colors moving together in a way that is reminiscent of the way trains move.
The arrangement of the interior areas is inspired by continuously moving strips of color. The seating area and buffer zone, which includes the main entrance and check-in, are arranged interwoven, this helps the spaces not to be affected by each other. The sliding glass doors and colored plastic curtains also add flexibility to the space and enhance its color effects. The design team creates different layouts for the space by changing the positions of the sliding glass doors and furniture, adding a touch of newness to the area.
The facade, furniture, and bar also use the same striped pattern, which combines to form a ‘moving space.’. Green and red are a pair of contrasting colors with a retro vibe, so they were chosen for the main visualization of the building. On the facade, the Okkio logo was stretched to form green polycarbonate strips, which were then combined with an LED system. This setup not only highlights the color during the day but also creates an effect at night. By pushing the entire glass system of the front door backward, our team created a double outdoor setback with green patches and mirror artwork pillars – helping to create buffer space and a check-in area for the coffee shop.
The ‘chaos’ is also expressed through the use of materials and perspectives. Due to the ceiling height limitation and the number of beams, the team has created more conjugate beams to divide the ceiling into many sections. Large mirrors were hung at various angles. The multi-angle reflections not only make the space appear taller but also provide more reflective perspectives from different viewpoints.
Besides the old materials from the previous design like effect paint, and color polycarbonate panel,… Red5 team also put in some new materials such as chromatized steel, striped glass, stained glass, acid-etched mirror, and dichroic film. The use of dichroic film, sliding color glass doors, and plastic curtain systems creates a continuous moving space. The ceiling lamp is reflected through the glass panels, which will change color based on the visitor’s point of view.
The constantly moving stream of time is conveyed through the material and light, creating strips of color throughout the building. Each LED strip starts from the facade into the interior space, running along the building and combining with the drop light system, round LED light boxes on the walls, and table lamps of various pitches and sizes. All lighting systems create multiple layers and color scenarios depending on the time of day.
On the bustling Nguyen Sieu Street, there is an Okkio that stands still but is always animated by the movement of light, color, and people. The movement occurs at different times, whether in the past, present, or future, you will not be able to meet anyone on the same train. This is similar to Wong Kar-Wai’s direction in the films 2046 and In the Mood for Love, where characters see each other only in their imagination and never come together. Real and imagined memories have been combined in a way that evokes a similar feeling to the material in the project. Sometimes you can see through it, other times it appears blurred, or you might even see yourself.