Studio Illumine created a space lighting design for Black Star Pastry, a space-themed cafe in Shanghai. Using a monochromatic palette, reflective materials and bespoke lighting, the studio transformed the café interior into a space that evokes the feeling of being on a spaceship. The main challenge was the lighting of the meteorite shelves, where adequate light was needed to highlight the minerals without overlighting the space.
The ground floor serves as a café-pastry shop. The design immerses visitors in the feeling of being on a spaceship: the walls of the café are lined with stainless steel shelves containing thousands of meteorites that stretch to the ceiling. Meteorite shelf lighting was the biggest challenge of this project. Adequate light is needed to bring out the minerals, but precisely calibrated to make sure the space is not overlit due to the density of the reflective shelves. Each shelf is edge lit within a sliding system to allow rear access for LED maintenance.
Heading up to the first floor is the Black Star Gallery, an exhibition-style dining space. Dark interiors with low ceilings create a strong contrast with the daylight. To reduce this contrast, the ceiling is lit from below to create a brighter ambiance, facilitating a natural transition between daylight and artificial light.
Studio Illumine is an international team of lighting designers with a passion for light, architecture and art. The studio was founded in 2012 and is located in Shanghai. The highly skilled team comes from different design disciplines and specialize in architectural lighting solutions for high-end projects in the corporate, commercial, healthcare and educational sectors. Its independent and professional status ensures that its services are independent of manufacturers. Studio Illumine is design focused, creating holistic projects through close collaboration with other professionals in the design industry.
project info
Company: Illumine Studio
Lead Designers: Azlan Nazam, Shiny Kuang
Other Designer's names: Interior Design: Linehouse
Interior Design Company: line house
Client: Black Star Pastry
Photo Credit: Jonathan Leijonhufvud
Art Curation: Louis Li
Completion Dates: April 2021
Project Location: Shanghai, China
Project Links: View
