Los Angeles-based firm Wick Architecture & Design, in partnership with LAND Design Studio, applied anaglyph, an old technology of displaying 3D movies, to create a cathedral-like effect inside the Stereoscope coffee shop, which was recently opened in Newport Beach, California.

The coffee shop is situated on the ground level of a large two-building office complex sharing a common courtyard. The design team was tasked with infusing excitement into a narrow, L-shaped space with a very high ceiling. The space connects to entrances at both ends of the L, including one adjacent to the building’s lobby, and another connecting to the exterior courtyard. The layout, together with Stereoscope Coffee’s taste for modern, minimalism, created a unique challenge for Wick and Lindley.

Having traveled the world extensively, David Wick and Andrew Lindley harkened back to a recent trip to Italy, where they had the opportunity to view Correggio’s Assumption of the Virgin, a 16th-century fresco adorning the dome of the Cathedral of Parma. The duo envisioned the possibility of a modern interpretation and adaptation of that historic Renaissance approach, with a multi-dimensional aspect to it that would capture the essence of the word stereoscope, a precursor to modern 3D technology.

“We recalled an artist named Christy Lee Rogers, who is renowned for her unique underwater Renaissance and Baroque style photography,” notes David Wick. “We approached her with the idea of licensing a piece of her work, The Reunion of Cathryn Carrie and Jean, and then transferring it to 3D.”

The next step was to transfer the art piece to the ceiling. Working in close collaboration with a Nashville-based blueprinters, Big Visual Group, the design team developed a key for cutting the art into pieces, before printing the pieces onto vinyl rolls.

They also made several adjustments to the collective work’s level of 3D projection, ensuring that visitors who opted not to wear 3D glasses would still have a beautiful and eclectic work of art to view. Once completed, the vinyl rolls were applied to the ceiling like wallpaper.

In contrast to the boldness of the cathedral-like ceiling, the architects chose materials within a warm, modern palette to ground Stereoscope’s interior to its natural concrete floors. White oak bench seating wraps around the L-shaped space, accentuated by a 6in (15cm) ledge for convenient storing of personal items.

Blue orca marble infuses movement and texture into the cut stone coffee bar’s minimalist composition, while bone-white matte tiles line the back of the service counter to provide a very warm and blended texture. Finally, above the bench seating, shelving for 20 pairs of 3D glasses provides access to the full visual grandeur of the artwork above, completing the space’s avant-garde experience.

Source Visuall