Background of café in Hong Kong
Hong Kong has been described as a fast city, which highlights busy and stressful for tourists (Choi et al, 1999). According to the Work-life Balance Cities Ranking 2021 by BPO, Hong Kong is the world’s most overworked city with 30% of workers working more than 48 hours per week (Arkwright, 2022). To deal with overload, people in Hong Kong have learned how to balance work and life. The rising number of coffee shops in Hong Kong is one indicator of this, which allows people to slow down from overwhelming work. As suggested by Ferreira et al. (2021), “Coffee shops have been described as ‘third places’ in urban lives separate from work and home, providing places for people to meet, relax and develop connections”. The café culture is largely affected and adjusted by Starbucks in Europe (Alderman, 2012) and in Asia (Backman, 2005). In Hong Kong, during the pandemic period that Hong Kong’s social distancing rules for COVID-19 ban restaurants from opening in the evening (Jones, 2022), coffee shops are affected the least by this restriction with a rising number of café (Mok, 2021). As a result, the rising demand for café for Hong Kong people is catered to the fast-paced life in Hong Kong.
Description of the setting
The major setting is “The Coffee Academics “at the University of Hong Kong, which is in the center of the campus. It connects two main ways: the MTR station and some academic buildings. Also, it is located near the largest library in HKU, called the “main library”. This is a busy place in HKU, especially during the revision period, nearly every floor is occupied by students to review and finish homework.
Method of Conducting the Research
As mentioned in “Background of café in Hong Kong”, there is an increasing trend in Hong Kong that people spend time in café to relax and to slow down in this fast-speed city. Then, a question about how café affects people and allows them to slow down arises. From the research, I mainly review the design of the café. According to Wardono and Soelami (2018), the interior space environmental factors, such as color lighting and materials of cafes could be reason for people to stay for a long time. From their research on luminous furniture, they concluded that “the luminous furniture using rounded form furniture, random weaved pattern, and polyester jersey fabric cover” is the major contribution for producing positive emotion for people. They also suggested that lighting fixture works in a constant mode is better than works in a dynamic mode. As for the wall material of cafes, using light and dark-colored wooden materials can provide a warmer and cozier place compared to using other materials in the café (Coşgun et al, 2021). Green plants, decorative paintings, books, and other elements in Furnishing help customers relax in the café (Yue, 2022).
students rush to attend classes,
Filming ideas
To create this video, I first choose the café in Hong Kong that can best represent the concept of the slow city. Regarding the location that can best describe the slow city, I exclude the popular café in the city, which is usually accompanied with the intention to cater to the trend, and also the place in causeway bay, which is usually accompanied with the intention to have a rest from shopping. Instead, I choose the café on our campus, The Coffee Academics. This is the place that is very busy, especially during the revision period and serves as the place for study if students cannot find a place in the library. After deciding on the filming place, I capture several videos, which include the surroundings, and exterior and interior design of the café, and compare the café on weekdays and weekends.
I also apply many filming techniques. I use the long shot in the video, which can help to indicate the location of The Coffee Academics on the campus and capture the overall design of the café. Some close-ups are also used when filming some important elements in the café, mainly the lighting, interior decoration, the material of the seat and the green plants. This can help the audience be fully involved in this scene and feel the atmosphere factor in the café that makes people to slow down in the fast-paced life in Hong Kong.
Editing ideas
The major editing technique is the montage, which helps to combine a range of videos and give the audience a more comprehensive idea of how the slow city is represented in The Coffee Academics. Also, I speed up the section in the school library to show the busyness and sped down the section in the café when comparing the outside and inside of the café.
Reflection
By creating the slow city in The Coffee Academics, I understand that the exterior and interior design of the café can help to create a cozy atmosphere, making people slow down from the bustle and hustle of life.
Reference:
Alderman, L. (2012, March 31). In Europe, Starbucks Adjusts to a Café Culture. https://pierre-legrand.com/ewExternalFiles/a%20note%20.pdf
Arkwright, P. (2022, March 15). Hong Kong world’s most overworked city. https://hrmagazine.com.hk/hr-news-archives/hong-kong-worlds-most-overworked-city/
Backman, M. (2005). From Starbucks to Coffee Bean: Asia’s Coffee Shop Revolution. In: Inside Knowledge. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9780230522398_15
Choi, W.M., Chan, A., & Wu, J. (1999). A qualitative and quantitative assessment of Hong Kong’s image as a tourist destination. Tourism Management,20(3),361-365. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0261517798001162
Coşgun, B., Yıldırım, K., & Hidayetoglu, M. L. (2022). Effect of wall covering materials on the perception of cafe environments. Facilities (Bradford, West Yorkshire, England), 40(3/4), 214–232. https://doi.org/10.1108/F-07-2021-0060
Ferreira, J., Ferreira, C., & Bos, E. (2021). Spaces of consumption, connection, and community: Exploring the role of the coffee shop in urban lives. Geoforum,119, 21-29. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0016718520303080
Jones, G. (2022, March 11). Serving up a rarely changing menu of quirky Canto-European concoctions, the cha chaan teng is at the heart of the city’s singular cultural identity. https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20220310-hong-kongs-greasy-spoon-cafes
Mok, C. (2021, September 21). Hong Kong’s Rising Coffee Culture Over The Past Decade. https://www.tatlerasia.com/dining/drinks/best-hong-kong-coffee-shops-culture-2021
Wardono, P., & Nugroho Soelami, F.X. (2018). Illuminated Furniture as the Atmospheric Factor of Café Interior Design. Asian Journal of Quality of Life,3(10), 69-77. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/229964238.pdf
Yue, J. (2022). How does Interior Design Create Values – A Case Study of the &Green Café. Journal of Social Science and Humanities, 4(5).
Rui Haoning
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Your video investigates how cafes offer an alternative third space that slows down the pace of urban life. I appreciate your analysis on different design aspects of the cafe that create a hospitable environment for visitors, and the analysis of the usage of such spaces. It will be more engaging to viewers if you had a more rigorous approach in filming and documenting the cafe spaces instead of just a mere walk-through of it.