- Location: Pelantar II Maritime Pier, Tanjungpinang, Pulau Bintan
Over the shifting tides of Tanjungpinang’s historic stilt-city waterfront, a striking architectural contrast has taken form. Built over a centuries-old maritime trading pier, this ultra-modern, floating glass-and-steel cube serves as a high-concept lifestyle sanctuary for the city’s creative youth. Suspended entirely on reinforced concrete stilts over the sea, the space seamlessly integrates clinical physical alignment, independent analog music curation, and third-wave coffee science. These five continuous spatial loops invite you to step off the noisy, old-world wooden piers and move through a minimalist wellness routine where the rise and fall of the ocean tide dictates your inner rhythm.
1. The Over-Water Pilates Reformer Reef
The wellness ritual begins inside the building’s main studio—a breathtaking, transparent glass pavilion hovering directly over the ocean waves. The room houses a symmetrical line of top-tier Pilates Reformer machines set against raw steel structural pillars. As you step onto the carriage to execute precise, slow eccentric core movements, the floor-to-ceiling glass walls offer an completely unobstructed view of the Riau Strait. The smooth, mechanical glide of the machine’s springs operates in tandem with the rolling motion of the tide visible right beneath your feet, creating a profound, meditative state of physical and spatial awareness.
2. The Frosted-Glass Acoustic Airlock
Leaving the expansive glare of the ocean studio, you step into a narrow, interior transition corridor constructed from heavy, frosted acoustic glass panels and matte-black iron frames. This geometric airlock is engineered to radically reset your sensory state; the bright, sparkling coastal light is diffused into a soft, milky glow, while thick sound-dampening insulation completely cuts out the external roar of motorized water taxis (pompong) passing outside. Standing in this cool, silent void for a moment naturally stabilizes your breathing and centers your mind for the tactile environment ahead.
3. The Retro Record Stall & Tape Archive
The corridor opens up into a moody, low-lit mezzanine cove that functions as an independent record store and vintage audio lounge. Seamlessly blending international vinyl subcultures with maritime nostalgia, the custom oak wood racks are loaded with original vinyl pressings and rare local cassette tapes (kaset pita) ranging from retro 1980s synth-pop to modern deep house. Selecting an uncompressed, heavy-weight wax record, you take it to a personal turntable station. Dropping the stylus needle and putting on a pair of high-fidelity, open-back headphones instantly wraps your senses in the raw warmth of analog audio.
4. The Monochromatic Steel Espresso Lab
Re-emerging into the social core of the floating pier, you pull up a minimalist steel stool at a long bar crafted from a single, polished slab of dark volcanic slate. The specialty espresso laboratory features a futuristic, under-counter modular brewing system, leaving the counter clean and unencumbered. Here, you watch the barista extract a precision-measured shot of single-origin Arabika coffee, check its extraction yield digitally, and shake it over ice with a splash of fresh, locally sourced key-lime reduction. The resulting citrus-espresso fusion delivers a clean, sharp antioxidant boost that instantly activates your cognitive focus.
5. The Pier-End Maritime Decompression
The final lifestyle stage takes place on the building’s open-air rear timber deck, which projects out into the deep water channel with no railings to block the horizon. Furnished with low-slung, weather-resistant canvas lounge chairs, the deck places you face-to-face with the sea elements. Relaxing on the open platform, sipping your iced coffee alongside a traditional pan-fried sago cake, you can feel the cool evening sea breeze wash over you. Watching the golden sunset fade behind the silhouettes of passing wooden cargo boats while the dark water laps against the stilt pillars brings a deeply peaceful close to your waterfront wellness safari.
