Japanese architect Kengo Kuma has constructed a multi-storey Starbucks in Taiwan made from 29 shipping containers and inspired by coffee trees.

The white volumes have been staggered across four levels to create the 320 sqm mega-café, and set at 90-degree angles. This references the foliage of the plant as well as traditional Chinese bucket arches, used in temples and historic palaces.

Each container is connected via glazed walkways while light is drawn inside via skylights and huge floor-to-ceiling glass panels, which punctuate the coffee shop’s facade.

The cabins’ ribbed steel skin has been left exposed and paired with wooden floors to soften the space – part of the soon-to-open Hualien Bay Mall. Wooden booths are also dotted throughout the Starbucks store.

Read next: Inside Kengo Kuma’s ‘ode to Scottish craftmanship’