JJ Acuña Takes His Sweet Time
JJ DESIGNS A DESSERT HALL OFFERING A VISUAL SACCHARINE FEAST IN YANGON, BURMA
JJ designs a dessert hall offering a visual saccharine feast in Yangon, Burma
IN A COUNTRY where tradition still holds, where men wear the sarong-like longyi and women apply the yellowish paste thanaka on their cheeks, The Central Sweets Myanmar presents a fresh and vibrant take on how to have your dessert. Facing west along the Inya Lake in Yangon, this dessert hall offers a visual saccharine feast. Cotton candy blues and pinks dominate while terrazzo stone counter tops and tables were chosen to resemble toffee and candy bark.
JJ Acuña, principal architect and founder of Hong Kong-based JJA Bespoke Studio, designed The Central Sweets Myanmar, keeping in mind the Memphis design language founded in Milan in the 1980s. “It’s a playful version of postmodern, and we felt romantic as well as whimsical,” he remarks. An ascent to the
2nd floor through marble stairs and a brushed brass handrail reveals a coffee cart with a large powder-orange circle as a wheel, looking straight out of Ettore Sottsass’ playbook.
JJ and his team consider many factors when designing a space. He enumerates, “How will people walk in the space?
How will people order food? How will people sit in the space with this piece of dessert? And nowadays, how will people take photos of food? How will people take photos of themselves?” In one word— instagrammability—a requirement that has fallen on the shoulders of designers and restaurateurs of late.
JJ continues, “In an age where everything is shared online, you really have to plan restaurants the right way. There shouldn’t be dark corners, dead ends and bad lighting. We made sure that the lighting is diffused and balanced, and the color scheme is fun and youthful. The seating is semicomfortable but not too comfortable as this is fast eating. Chairs were metal and hard wearing with velveteen fabric for softness.”
Designing for a foreign country was a learning experience for JJ and his studio. They worked with international real estate developer Marga Group who has a strong base in Myanmar. “At first, I was really worried about the length of time to build anything in Yangon. We were also worried about construction and material quality, craftsmanship and delivery,” he says. Marga Group was able to import a construction team from Singapore and Malaysia but also maintained local Burmese workers and craftsmen. “There was good knowledge
exchange from the Hong Kong design team, the local Burmese workers, and the Malaysian construction company. In general, I’m pretty happy with the finish and the outcome,” JJ says, noting that the project was completed in only about six months.
That’s pretty fast considering the scale—a 3,600 sq. m. location—and the JJA Bespoke Studio’s values. He shares, “I always tell people we are a very hesitant studio. We do things at our own pace because we want to make sure our business moves are quite considered.”
Yangon’s design scene is young and exciting. JJ’s work with The Central Sweets definitely reflects the demands of the tech savvy youth of Myanmar. You can enjoy traditional Burmese rice cakes in one of the stalls and have access to Korean soft serve topped with fluffy cotton candy and pop rocks.
If there are design points you can take away from The Central Sweets in Myanmar, JJ weighs in, “The ‘80s are really back in interior design. Think about white and black marble ceramic tiles, but laid out in stripes so you can get that striped effect. Also, think about arches for your interior portals. That’s back in vogue as well.”