As the first purpose-built Maison Marou, the Thao Dien location offers a fresh look at the brand. Architects

HTAP

 proposed a 'floating-factory' concept, and Rice took the opportunity to streamline the identity system, and interior design under this playful and liberating idea—as the most hands-on, educational, multi-functional, café / factory yet for the chocolate makers.

MAKING—BREAKING—BUILDING—PLAYING

Rice deconstructed Marou brand assets—discovering new solutions that talked about process and making—this exploration directly informed spatial design, furniture,

and a fresh and dynamic graphic identity system.

The identity was thought of as a series of building blocks (logo, typography, image, and language) that can be used individually or in compound groupings. 

Our approach to furniture design led us to Factory-like, Andy Warhol-inspired shipping boxes that stack, become partitions or arrange as 'accidental' signage.

We developed an interlocking modular card system that became a playful solution for larger furniture in plywood. The system lent itself to a Charles and Ray Eames inspired

—Marou adventure card game for kids in the spirit of,

MAKING—BREAKING—BUILDING—PLAYING.

A centerpiece to a lounge-room is an interactive,

over-sized puzzle, based on Marou's iconic chocolate bar.  

Identity and spatial design: Daniel Keeffe, Aprar Elawad, Joshua Breidenbach

Production: Anna Dinh, Bang Lam, Hieu Huynh

Vertical context images: Ben Nguyen

Studio and space images: Wing Chan