Store design for the experimental bar CITADEL, which offers creative cocktails made with a variety of homemade liqueurs. The store occupies a small space of 8.2 meters wide and 5.5 meters deep, facing a back street in a downtown area of Fukuoka, Japan. The aim of this design was to create a space to feel a sense of excitement and curiosity, feeling like being in a science laboratory.

 

To lay out over 100 infused liquors, we hanged a double zigzag shelf across the rectangular space diagonally. Two kinds of counters include a Z shaped bar counter and licenced liquor shop counter are installed under the shelf, whose shape is folded to achieve a larger surface area in the tiny space. The illuminated display shelf with total 10.5 meters long accentuates the vibrant impression of the store.

 

The function of this project is positioned as a source of new culture in Fukuoka. CITADEL invents not only new cocktails with various ingredients, but also creates several components of bar culture with local designers, artists and musicians. For example, we can see some colorful graphics at the windows from both inside-outside. This translucent gallery shows cover arts of CITADEL MUSIC which is a record label for their original soundscape.

 

Based on user science, the owner of CITADEL learned in graduate school, we have positioned the first five years as a start-up period to understand the needs and behaviors of users, and in 2021 it was completed by renewing the space design, logo and management system. A variety of local industries, such as farms that reuse food waste to produce ingredients and bottled cocktails made at traditional breweries, are contained in this 45 m2 space.