TL;DR
Neri&Hu designed Blue Bottle Coffee Busan’s 488-square-meter “Elevated Maru,” completed in 2025, around a contemporary interpretation of the maru, an open wooden-floored area in a traditional Korean house. The design links the cafe’s fourth floor and rooftop while framing views of the Suyeong River; details about the cafe’s opening and operating schedule were not included in the source report.
Neri&Hu’s “Elevated Maru” design for Blue Bottle Coffee Busan reworks the fourth floor and rooftop of a 488-square-meter cafe as a contemporary interpretation of a traditional Korean architectural space. The project, completed in 2025 and reported by Daily Coffee News on October 21, 2026, is designed to connect the cafe’s interior with views of the Suyeong River and its surrounding landmarks.
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The project occupies an existing building on Millak Subyeon Road in Busan. Blue Bottle asked the architects to make use of its panoramic river outlook, according to the Daily Coffee News report. Neri&Hu responded by organizing the fourth floor and rooftop around the maru: an open, wooden-floored area in a traditional Korean house that can serve as a shared living space and a link between rooms and the outdoors.
The design draws on traditional building forms without simply reproducing a hanok, or Korean house. Neri&Hu referenced the daedeulbo and seokkarae, described in the report as beams and rafters, and the cheoma, or eaves. A staircase between the cafe’s fourth floor and roof is designed to suggest a lantern. On the rooftop, the ceiling takes inspiration from the deul-eo-yeol-gae-mun, a type of folding door.
The exterior combines stainless-steel I-beams with clear and textured glass. Inside, the listed materials include concrete, aluminum extrusions, corrugated stainless-steel panels, white oak, plywood, glass and terracotta. The project team named by Daily Coffee News includes Neri&Hu for architecture, interiors, products and graphics; Design Energy for local design, lighting and construction; and Hwasoomog Flower and Garden for landscape work.
The design makes the cafe’s river-facing location part of its architectural organization. Rather than treating the rooftop and upper floor as unrelated areas, “Elevated Maru” links them through a central idea drawn from a flexible, communal space in Korean domestic architecture. That gives the project a specific local reference while addressing Blue Bottle’s request to use the river view.
Neri&Hu described the cafe as a social hub and gateway connecting the Suyeong River with Baek Mountain. That is the firm’s stated intention, not an independently measured effect. The project is relevant to readers interested in how global coffee brands and design teams adapt existing buildings and draw on local architectural traditions. The source report does not provide visitor data or other evidence about how customers use the space.
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The Maru’s Role in the Design
Daily Coffee News presented the project as part of its Design Details series, which profiles individual examples of coffee-shop architecture, interiors, packaging or branding. Its report identifies the Busan site as an adaptive-reuse project and credits Neri&Hu with the architectural and interior work. The space covers 488 square meters, equivalent to 5,253 square feet.
In the firm’s explanation, the maru is more than a visual motif: it functions as a threshold between inside and outside and as a place for daily activities, gatherings and ceremonies. The Busan design applies that idea to a commercial setting through its upper-floor arrangement, rooftop connection and river-facing orientation. The source does not specify what the existing building was used for before the cafe project.
“Busan Blue Bottle is conceived as a social hub and a gateway, bridging the Suyeong River and Baek Mountain, and enhancing the connectivity between these significant urban and natural landmarks.”
— Neri&Hu, in a project description shared with Daily Coffee News
Operating Details Not Reported
The report confirms the project’s location, size, design team and completion year, but does not state when the cafe opened, its current hours, or whether the rooftop is accessible to customers at all times. It also provides no information about visitor numbers, business performance or how the design has affected use of the site. The architects’ description of the cafe as a social hub is an expression of design intent; the source supplies no independent assessment of that outcome.
The report does not identify the prior function of the existing building or give a detailed construction timeline beyond saying the project was completed in 2025. It is also unclear whether Blue Bottle or the design team has announced further changes to the site since completion.
Further Site Updates Unconfirmed
Daily Coffee News’ October 21, 2026, article is a design report, not an announcement of a new construction phase or future opening. The project is listed as completed in 2025, and the source names no upcoming milestone. Any update on operating arrangements, rooftop access or later changes would need to come from Blue Bottle Coffee Korea or the project partners; no such plans are reported in the material available here.
Key Questions
Where is Blue Bottle Coffee Busan’s “Elevated Maru”?
It is on Millak Subyeon Road in Busan, South Korea, in a building overlooking the Suyeong River.
Who designed the cafe?
Neri&Hu handled architecture, interiors, products and graphics. The report also credits Design Energy with local design, lighting and construction, and Hwasoomog Flower and Garden with the landscape.
What does “maru” mean in the project?
The report describes a maru as an open, wooden-floored area in a traditional Korean house. Neri&Hu used it as a reference for connecting the cafe’s fourth floor, rooftop and outdoor setting.
When was the project completed, and how large is it?
The project was completed in 2025 and covers 488 square meters, or 5,253 square feet, according to Daily Coffee News.
Does the report give the cafe’s opening hours or rooftop access rules?
No. The source report does not provide hours, opening-date details or rooftop access arrangements.
Source: rss
