Should you make your way to the Dazaifu Tenmangu, a popular Shinto shrine in Dazaifu, Japan, you’ll find this eye-catching new Starbucks among the more traditional buildings along your path. The brainchild of the architects at Kengo Kuma and Associates, the coffee shop was built using “a unique system of weaving thin woods diagonally” — over 2,000 batons to be precise.
“Piling up of small parts from the ground was highly developed in the traditional architecture of Japan and China,” they explain. “This time the method was greatly improved in combination with state-of-the art technology so that people are brought further into the architecture. It is a fluid, cave-like space.” Do you find the resulting space as unique and visually appealing as we do? Does looking at these images make you crave an iced Venti?
Photo credit: Masao Nishikawa
Photo credit: Masao Nishikawa
Photo credit: Masao Nishikawa
Photo credit: Masao Nishikawa
Photo credit: Masao Nishikawa
[via Dezeen]