Madrid-based architecture firm Selgascano has completed a remarkable seaside café in Rizhao, China, that virtually disappears into its natural surroundings. The Chiringuito Café, also known as Coffee and Sea Cafeteria, serves as a transparent bridge between a dense black pine forest and the vast ocean shoreline, offering visitors a unique pause between two distinct natural worlds.

The 690-square-meter structure showcases the architects' signature approach to light, color, and transparency through three elongated glass rectangles that are slightly stepped and aligned parallel to the sea. Each volume is elevated at different levels, rising in 70-centimeter increments from the forest side toward the water, creating a sequence of open, transparent spaces suspended just above the sand. This simple yet effective topographic design organizes the café's program while preserving unobstructed views of both the pine canopy and the distant horizon line.

At just 6.8 meters above the ground, the building maintains an intimate human scale that perfectly frames the surrounding landscape. Sliding doors on both sides of the structure allow the interior to completely dissolve into the beach environment, bringing the salt air directly into the space. The design creates a seamless connection between indoor and outdoor experiences, allowing visitors to feel immersed in the coastal setting.

Selgascano was commissioned to design this new venue as part of a broader effort to anchor and reorganize a coastal site that had long been cluttered with unplanned constructions. Beyond creating a new café, the project brief called for a comprehensive visual and spatial cleanup that would restore the natural connection between architecture and the surrounding environment.

One of the most striking features of the café is its ceiling and sunshades, crafted from recycled aluminum tubes painted in five different colors. These elements extend the building's chromatic rhythm outward, filtering natural light and infusing the glass structure with a sense of playfulness and vibrancy that is characteristic of the Madrid-based duo's architectural work. The colorful accents provide visual interest while maintaining the overall transparency of the design.

When viewed from the beach, the café nearly vanishes from sight as its glass surfaces reflect the forest and sky, making the landscape itself appear to become the architecture. Only the soft hues of the aluminum sunshades and the movement of people within the space reveal the building's presence to observers. This disappearing act creates a magical quality that changes throughout the day as lighting conditions shift.

The architects affectionately named the project "Chiringuito," a reference to the informal beach bars commonly found along the Spanish coast. These traditional structures are characterized by their simplicity and open-air design, serving as casual gathering places that host seaside life and community interactions. By invoking this name, Selgascano connects their sophisticated glass pavilion to the unpretentious spirit of Mediterranean beach culture while creating something entirely new for the Chinese coastal context.