Ellipsis, a new café and bar near Vancouver’s Granville Island, takes its name from the idea that a good coffee shop should serve as a moment of pause. When it comes to this particular destination, visitors have plenty of architectural history to reflect upon: Ellipsis is located in the Waterfall Building, one of the last built projects by Arthur Erickson (who worked on the design alongside Nick Milkovich Architects). Back when the mixed-use complex was completed in 2001, its prismatic base was home to an art gallery. Over the years, the glazed wedge evolved into an event venue where many a modernist was wed in front of the slanted glass walls that look out to a courtyard waterfall.

Now, thanks to Vancouver- and London-based firm Sml Studio Architecture, the pavilion has become an all-day watering hole. “I went to school nearby at Emily Carr, so I passed by all the time and always thought it was the coolest building,” says co-founder Mira Yung. Her partner, Benny Kwok, says their intervention focuses on “the same sort of primitive geometries” as the structure itself — hence the shapely bar and tables (which, to maintain flexibility for ongoing events, can all be easily moved out) and Vale pendants by A-N-D’s Caine Heintzman, a former classmate of Yung’s. On the back wall, a Mandalaki Halo light projects a sunset-like gradient. “We wanted something to warm up the grey weather in Vancouver,” says Yung.