For French pastry in Taipei, there’s nowhere quite like Season, a new patisserie in the Da’an District
Designed by Ecru Studio for Chef Hung, one of Taiwan’s first traditional French pastry chefs, the colourful space draws inspiration from 18th-century Parisian salons, weaving together elements of Art Deco and Art Nouveau as well as Asian motifs. “These references informed everything from the spatial rhythm to material choices, allowing us to blend decorative richness with moments of restraint,” says Jin Chen, co-founder of Ecru Studio.
The original space was built in the early 1970s and presented a blank canvas for the studio. Working within a relatively compact footprint, the designers set out to create four distinct zones – a pastry showcase, a giftable sweets area, a salon-style seating lounge and a nine-seat island bar; each has its own identity yet all are seamlessly integrated into a cohesive whole.
From a custom wood floor inspired by Milanese design to hand-painted murals referencing Shang Dynasty symbols and unique Asian textile patterns, every detail was chosen to reflect emotional depth and visual richness. The colour palette transitions from refined shades of blue to deeper, theatrical tones – red, ochre and gold – guiding guests through a spatial narrative. Floral fabrics, velvet and decorative details like fringes meld European elegance with a distinctly local Taiwanese spirit.
“As Season entered a new chapter, Chef Hung chose blue as the primary colour,” says Chen. “In response, we anchored the fresh pastry and retail zones in varying shades of blue, establishing a calm and elegant tone for the brand’s new visual identity.”
Asian elements play a key role in the visual language, anchoring the space in its locale. In the gift zone, the fabric used for the twin benches features abstract, symbol-based patterns unique to certain Asian textile traditions. The designers also worked with local artist Genggeng to create a hand-painted mural inspired by an ancient Shang Dynasty motif and referenced antique trim catalogues, vintage dessert packaging and old textile shops to develop the material and colour language for the space. “These details required a high level of experimentation and precision, but ultimately helped us craft a space that feels emotionally rich and visually unexpected,” says co-founder Randy Tu.
“One moment that stayed with us was during an early meeting with Chef Hung,” says Chen. “He spoke about his years studying pastry in France, and how the philosophy he brought back to Taiwan wasn’t about decoration, but about restraint – knowing when to stop. That line became something of a quiet mantra throughout the design process. It reminded us to let certain materials breathe, to hold back when the space was already saying enough. We even made the decision to leave one wall partially bare, so the mural could feel like a fragment of memory rather than a centerpiece. Moments like these reaffirm why we love what we do – when design becomes a shared language between people, memory and place.”
Photography by Dean Hearne (@dean.hearne). Design by Ecru Studio (@ecru.studio).
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