Since the opening of its first shop in Ashiya in 1969, Henri Charpentier has been a beloved sweets shop in Japan. We have designed Henri Charpentier’s first shop overseas, a salon de thé in Singapore. The shop is located at the trendy Dempsey Hill area, a destination popular with citizens and tourists alike that is home to both lush nature and classic elegance.

The building housing the shop has an exceptional structure, with only the kitchen surrounded by a framed structure and the customer seating in a covered tent area. We wanted to express Henri’s unique worldview while adapting our design to these existing conditions.

First, we ensured that every seat had a line of sight to the nature outdoors while erecting a roof truss in the main seating area to create a relaxing atmosphere. The roof truss also serves to partition the customer seating zones.

Next, an important theme within the seemingly simplistic tent construction was how to create a space suited to the high-quality feel of the Henri brand. In order to lessen the focus on the roof tent, we have decided to create a distinctive mosaic pattern for the carpet to lower the visual line and draw more attention to the floor. The carpet pattern is derived from the lines of the windows, which are arranged in a zigzag pattern unique to the location. This also further integrates the design into building’s architecture.

The carpet and the showcase use colour memory to express the spirit of the Henri brand, for which Ashiya holds special meaning. They adopt a pink colour inspired by the pink azaleas that are the city flower of Ashiya, where the Henri brand began. This creates continuity with the identity of the shops in Japan and alludes to Henri being a gift from Ashiya.