Bandesign clads a Japanese cafe in mirrors to reflect a row of cherry trees
A bank of cherry blossoms are mirrored in the reflective gables of this cafe that angles around a smaller tree in Gifu, Japan, by architecture studio Bandesign (+ slideshow).
![Roadside café by Bandesign](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/11/Roadside-cafe-by-Bandesign_dezeen_784_1.jpg)
Bandesign designed the cafe, named Mirrors, for a plot by the side of a road on a tourist route. The building has two wings and looks as if it has been split in half and arranged around a single Camilla tree, which stands on a patch of white gravel with tile edging.
![Roadside café by Bandesign](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/11/Roadside-cafe-by-Bandesign_dezeen_468_0.jpg)
The mirrored gables are angled towards each other, reflecting both the adjacent tree and the cherry blossoms that line a river bank that is popular with passing tourists.
![Roadside café by Bandesign](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/11/Roadside-cafe-by-Bandesign_dezeen_468_10.jpg)
"Taking advantage of this location – Mirrors is on a riverside street and cherry blossom trees grew along the street. Mirrors reflects the cherry blossom, creating a forest and inviting visitors in," studio founder Hisanori Ban told Dezeen.
![Roadside café by Bandesign](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/11/Roadside-cafe-by-Bandesign_dezeen_468_3.jpg)
The outer facades of the single-storey building are clad in strips of white-painted steel that give the timber-framed building a traditional clapboard appearance.
![Roadside café by Bandesign](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/11/Roadside-cafe-by-Bandesign_dezeen_468_5.jpg)
Vibrant red doors positioned under a porch on each of the white facades lead into the cafe's two seating areas.
![Roadside café by Bandesign](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/11/Roadside-cafe-by-Bandesign_dezeen_468_7.jpg)
Interior walls are painted white, red and green, and customers sit under dark wooden eaves intended to resemble tree branches.
![Roadside café by Bandesign](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/11/Roadside-cafe-by-Bandesign_dezeen_468_8.jpg)
"The vertical roof struts, a motif of the tree branch, give them the feeling of resting under a tree," said Ban. "Every part of the design and colour implies being in the forest."
![Roadside café by Bandesign](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/11/Roadside-cafe-by-Bandesign_dezeen_468_11.jpg)
Wooden chairs are lined up behind counters under wide picture windows in each gable to give simultaneous views of both the reflected and real scenery.
![Roadside café by Bandesign](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/11/Roadside-cafe-by-Bandesign_dezeen_468_13.jpg)
A kitchen with a serving hatch is positioned at the back of the space, in the join between the two seating areas.
![Roadside café by Bandesign](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/11/Roadside-cafe-by-Bandesign_dezeen_468_9.jpg)
Photography is by Shigetomo Mizuno.
Project credits:
Architect: Bandesign – Hisanori Ban Terashima kazumoto
Lighting design: Koizumi Lighting technology – Atsuko Fujita
Construction company: Oribe – Daisuke Oribe
![Roadside café by Bandesign](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/11/Roadside-cafe-by-Bandesign_dezeen_1.gif)
![Roadside café by Bandesign](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/11/Roadside-cafe-by-Bandesign_dezeen_2.gif)
![Roadside café by Bandesign](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/11/Roadside-cafe-by-Bandesign_dezeen_3.gif)