Studio SKLIM have created a compact café in Singapore using the concept of negative space to carve out seating booths, countertops, display shelves and overhanging canopies. The café covers an area of just 28sq m (301sq ft) but accommodates an experience and retail corner, a take-away counter, seating booths and a counter for conducting workshops. The central counter block is cast in concrete and is designed to merge into the

Beijing Fenghemuchen Space Design has created a 1,170sq m (12,600sq ft) library, coffee shop and cultural space in China's Hangzhou City that is contained and shaped by natural wooden bookshelves and elements. The aim was to create a reading-themed space that could also be used for shared experiences and community purposes. Designers Yi Chen and Muchen Zhang chose to use oak throughout for its warmth and naturality as a material

Chinese studio Towodesign have completed work on Dr. Bravura – a health-centric eatery in Shanghai that specialises in a unique delicacy: bird's nests. The 119 sq m space, which the architects say is based on the concept of "Research and Development for Health" is furnished with gold-painted stands, shelves, and lighting fixtures, as well as glass displays which create the ambience of an art gallery. Each hexagonal display – shaped

In a piece of good news for aspiring Holly Golightlys – it is now possible to follow in the footsteps of Audrey Hepburn and have breakfast at Tiffany’s in real life. Tomorrow (10 November), Tiffany & Co’s flagship jewellery store in New York is opening its first-ever retail dining concept, The Blue Box Cafe, as part of a comprehensive fourth-floor renovation. The in-house creative team have designed both the new

French designer Philippe Starck has created the interiors for a boutique hotel and cafe among the towering sand dunes of southern France. Located within a neo-Basque structure in the Bay of Arcachon, Hotel Haïtza and the Ha(a)ïtza café will offer a place for tourists and residents to socialise and relax along the waterfront in the district of Pyla, which is home to the tallest sand dune in Europe. The building

Two architecture studios have revealed their plans to bring hospitality, sport and culture to Helsinki’s Töölönlahti Bay; regenerating the area as a large-scale public space. Danish designers COBE and Finnish firm Lundén Architecture have worked alongside Helsinki branding company N2 to visualise a new development scheme for the 40,000sq m bay (430,500sq ft). Their proposal includes a new waterside promenade, several pedestrian and bicycle routes, and a recreational and cultural

The Only Way Is Essex (TOWIE) star, Ferne McCann, officially launched the St Nicholas Café, Bar and Spa in Shrewsbury last night – located within a converted church which dates back to 1865. Ferne McCann, of the BAFTA-winning ITV2 reality TV show, celebrated the launch of all three parts of the mixed-use facility - situated near Shrewsbury Castle. The top floor hosts the bar, the middle floor is home to

The reopening of the historic Café Royal in London, UK, has been pushed back to October as work continues on its transformation into a 159-bedroom luxury hotel. It had been intended the hotel would open last month (June) ahead of the 2012 Games, with the 800sq m (8,611sq ft) Akasha Holistic Wellbeing Centre among its facilities. However, general manager Louis Sailer confirmed the launch date had been delayed due to

London's historic Café Royal will reopen in June as a member of The Set, a newly-unveiled hotel collection established by Alfred and Georgi Akirov, following an extensive renovation. David Chipperfield Architects and Donald Insall Associates have overseen a comprehensive facelift of the Regent Street property, which has been carried out over the last three years. Among the new additions to the 159-bedroom hotel is the 800sq m (8,611sq ft) Akasha