Viennese coffee houses symbolized the city’s public living room, acting as an informal gathering space for conversation and contemplation. This proposal for The Brewed, designed by 3B students Danielle Grabke and Chris Qiu, modernizes the coffee house by retaining its role as a gathering space while nesting programs that promote local innovation.
Concept
The Village Coffee splits the typical café into six different “houses”. Each offers various programmatic uses and creates the condition for different interactions, giving the user a sense of agency in their environment. Visitors enter the space through glass canopies that flank the edges of each house. A continuous skylight connects the human to nature while providing shelter from the elements. This organization of spaces ensures there is a place of comfort and familiarity for people of all walks of life. Thus, the houses become an extension of home, and customers can enjoy a cup of coffee in complete comfort.
Form
We started our design by researching Fritz Wotruba, a key artist in Belvedere 21, the neighbouring museum. Fascinated by his rectilinear sculptures, his work became the inspiration for our floor plan. The site is divided into smaller components, each with a unique function: creation, conversation, relaxation, and discovery. The houses use roofs that are symbolic of vernacular Austrian architecture. A central pathway connects the houses.
Interior – Exterior Connection
Each house creates a unique atmosphere through its lighting, elevation, and furniture layout. The customer engages through a spontaneous journey as the skylights and large windows pull them through the building and towards the outdoor patio. As they meander through the coffee house, the houses provide places of rest.
Materials
Following our concept of being connected to nature, our material palette is light and uses minimal structural components. Wood makes up most of the interior, existing in the floor of the circulation space, the walls of the seating areas, or the shelving in the pottery shop. The staircase hangs from tensile metal rods that direct your sight towards the roof. The clear glass skylight combines the material palette of the exterior with the interior, like elements of rain and snow. In addition to the finishes, the furniture is simple in form and material.
Heritage
We designed the café to adhere to the original coffee houses and espresso bars. With large tables, movable furniture, and a performance stage, we invite strangers to form friendships. Historically, coffee houses represented a place for freedom of expression regardless of religion, class, or status, where open conversation is welcomed. People would come to express their political views or showcase their musical talent. Our inclusion of a stage allows for those traditions to continue. The kitchen is placed at the front to serve regular espresso drinkers who order their coffee and are gone within the minute. At the same time, the various seating areas provide a workspace for a new surge of remote workers. In these spaces, they can focus while finding their haven in a cup of coffee.
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