This Ho Chi Minh City coffee shop champions a ‘sip and sleep concept’
©Studio Anettai
Love drinking coffee in bed? This cafe in Ho Chi Minh City captures that experience by swapping tables and chairs for private pods and bunk beds.
Chidori’s ‘sip and sleep’ concept might sound gimmicky (or even contradictory) at first, but it’s borrowed from Japan by the cafe’s founder Sa Saito, as a spin on workplace ‘nap boxes’ used by over-tired and overworked Japanese workers.
©Studio Anettai
Saito tapped Studio Anettai to design the cafe and Chidori’s earthy interiors rethink the classic noisy coffee shop as a series of quiet moments and restful corners, with cosy bunks offering a ‘staycation experience’ of coffee in bed.
The building is a classic ‘tube house’ – tall and slim apartment buildings commonly found in Vietnam, especially in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh. They’re typically narrow and deep buildings, six feet wide and up to 12 storeys in height, and are surrounded by narrow alleyways called ‘hems’.
©Studio Anettai
Chidori has been scaled into an ‘extremely tall three storeys split’, explains the practice, ‘inviting visitors inside the alley to explore and find their home for a short while.’ Breezy triangulated brickwork creates airflow and offers glimpses into the interior from the street, while rugged tactile brickwork encloses the walkway giving it a feeling of discovery.
The pods are encased in natural wood, with draw-back curtains, soft underlighting, cushioned floor mats, and built-in shelving for perching beverages. There are six pods on each floor, with a more conventional public courtyard on the ground level with banquette seating and tables.
©Studio Anettai
Pods are pre-booked (to allow for cleaning and servicing). The ‘Take a Break’ package costs 160K VND and gives you two hours in a private pod, with two drinks and cake.
©Studio Anettai
