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Architects: AHCPL, PLAYGROUP Studio
- Area: 1850 ft²
- Year: 2016
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Photographs:Ravindra Kanade, Harsh Patel
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Manufacturers: Saint-Gobain, Kohler, Villeroy & Boch
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Lead Architects: Bhavana Hameed
Text description provided by the architects. Coffee being native and important to Coorg District, the coffee shop at Ibnii was conceived to be a sacred spot in the whole 120 acres of resort site. The creation of the site was as crucial as the design of the building itself. The location was carefully chosen near an existing pond in the valley between three hills. This pond was enlarged to five-folds its size to form a large lake. There existed a rectangular plinth from an old demolished concrete block manufacturing unit. The building uses this platform as its plinth and only a flying roof is added to emphasize the dramatic views from this location.
The monolithic concrete roof is medially anchored, its cantilevered edges sloping upwards in opposite directions celebrating an intimate relationship between the encompassing hills and the lake in front. This low-slung flying roof with the upturned beams offers a clear concrete surface from the interior. By locating the thin linear columns towards the center and keeping the edges free, the roof which defines the identity of this pavilion appears to rest lightly on the frameless glass façade edge that envelopes the pavilion in front. From the central supports, the roof cantilevers up to 7 mts outwards in the front.
The approach to the building is deliberately taken all the way around the water body to arrive through the rear of the building. It is only after arriving inside of the coffee pavilion that the visitor has revealed the breathtaking view through the full-faced glass wall. Fixed in the center of this delicate glass façade, is the heavy wooden door to emphasize and frame the ceremonious exit from the inside to the outside. The exterior deck with its original curing tanks are reused as coffee drying yards, and the hard landscape around is interspersed with coffee plants.
The interior floor is cladded with a local stone,’mandana’ which is coffee colored and laid as if woven to form a carpet to contrast with the stark concrete roof slab. The design objective for the coffee shop was to make minimal interventions on its landscape and to ensure that the built only enhanced the natural beauty of the site rather than overshadow it. The pavilion by itself is reduced to the bare minimum, in its simplest form, without taking anything away from the landscape.
