Z-Space: Gorgeous Courtyard and Café Digs for Laptop Warriors and Design Fiends Alike

Who says the hutongs aren’t fun anymore? Yeah yeah, some of your favorite bars, restaurants, and cafés may very well have been steamrolled by Beijing’s redevelopment campaign. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t still alluring, quirky and flat-out gorgeous spots to hang out at in those ever-changing alleyways. 

Case in point: Z-Space. The sprawling café, hotel, coworking space, and rooftop lounge will leave you positively agape upon entry. That's because its massive 1800 total square meterage and gorgeous design belie its unassuming doorway next to the equally hip newbie 3 Little Pigs eatery in the otherwise sleepy Xiezuo Hutong near Zhangzizhong Lu. 

A courtyard splendidly awash in natural light serves as the hub on the first floor. But lightly shaded wood grain throughout, brick floors, hallway walls painted whiter than a canvas, coworking nooks, conference rooms, and a barista bar all around the ground level out amicably (there's also a handful of conference rooms, a small lecture hall, and even a room that can be converted into a mini-cinema). The coffee isn’t on par with the hippest of hutong cafés, such as Metal Hands on Wudaoying or Soloist on Dashilar, but there’s plenty of serviceable options, from strong Americanos to indulgently sweet frappés (priced in the standard RMB 30-ish range). There’s also desserts, sandwiches, and salads, which all looked fine but not exceptional enough to immediately tempt us to order one up during our visit. 

No, the real draw here is the simple but elegant design, prime for a day of remote working, or for idly chatting a weekend afternoon away with friends. And by far the best spot to do so is on Z-Space’s quintessentially lao Beijing terrace, where you can see the venue’s skeletal hutong tiles are up close, and the other nearby alleyway rooftops stretch in every direction. It also has a bar with a couple of beer taps and a shallow pool. There are far worse places to spend a breezy summer afternoon, to say the least. 

The lush aesthetic comes courtesy of in-house interior designer Yang Ming and consultants with a few top-notch architecture firms like AEPA&TSC and Blue Architects. He says they wanted Z-Space to offer a myriad of functions, while also being eye-catching and memorable. As he puts it: "We tried to create a space where you can see the sunlight spreading from the glass on the table or on the brick floor of the corridor, where you can also see the pigeons flying in the sky, and hear the sounds of wind blowing through the trees."

"In short," Yang says, "We wanted to create a modern space in the spirit of a hutong courtyard."

Z-Space
Daily 10am-10pm. 40 Xiezuo Hutong, Dongcheng District (next to 3 Little Pigs)
东城区协作胡同40号

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Photos courtesy of Z-Space