The ArchDaily projects library is managed by our curators who constantly seek to populate our stream with the most interesting global works, showcasing evolving focuses and criteria. While we usually share our reader’s top 100 favorites, this year, we also decided to initiate our editor’s picks on the ArchDaily Instagram account, where our curators highlight some projects that include interesting themes and unique traits.
Coffee Shop: The Latest Architecture and News
ArchDaily Curator's Picks 2023: Global Projects our Curators Highlighted Through the Year
Coffee Shop Design: Creating Rich and Well-Balanced Interiors
At 23.5 degrees north and 23.5 degrees south of the equator respectively, sit the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. The 3,000-mile-wide band between them that wraps around the Earth is affectionately known as the ‘bean belt’. The tropical and sub-tropical climatic conditions inside the belt, as well as the high percentage of land over 1,000 meters above sea level, create the perfect conditions for the coffee plant to thrive.
In these regions across Central and South America, Africa, and Asia, coffee is one of the main national exports, becoming a large part of many national identities. So the interiors of the countries’ home-grown coffee shops can be just as rich and well-balanced as the coffee beans they grow. For people living in the bean belt, coffee is more than just a drink, it’s literally a life source. And at these coffee shops, it’s treated as such.
The Return of the Office Cafeteria Means More Social Workplaces
The atmospheric sadness of a typical office ‘kitchen’ – and by kitchen I mean an old kettle, two rusty spoons (both missing) and three flimsy chairs around a one-person table – can be the root of much employee unrest. But when the alternatives mean either walking through the city smog or hunching over a desk with a Tupperware sandwich, dropping crumbs on the keyboard, there isn’t much choice.
In the post-pandemic workplace, however, where employee wellness demands respect and employers themselves are searching for ways to make their offices more appealing in a hybrid schedule, the age-old canteen format might just find its way back onto the menu. Here is a selection of projects that prove it can work, and how.
Oficina Bravo: A Guide to Coffee and Ice Cream Shops in Santiago de Chile
Sebastián Bravo leads Oficina Bravo, an architectural practice founded in Santiago de Chile that has been developing projects with a clear strategy: to contribute to the city by efficiently using architectural, economic, and constructive resources through renovation and remodeling. Among their projects are spaces that openly interact with the immediate context, including works of patrimonial, administrative, and residential value such as Casa Compañía and Zagreb Office, as well as a large series of gastronomic and commercial spaces such as Felix Café and Apolo Helados.
Due to its design process and its ability to transform and restore spaces, Oficina Bravo was selected by ArchDaily as one of the best new architectural practices of 2023. They make a point of talking with clients, understanding them, and involving them in the process. This, they say, is the only thing that ensures that the ideas behind the project survive with dignity.
We have selected seven coffee and ice cream shops in Santiago that were designed by Oficina Bravo, while also conducting an interview to get to know their inspirations, working methods, and future projects. The result is a true daily guide for you to enjoy their work, their design process, and a good cup of coffee.
Den Da Coffee Shop / KSOUL Studio
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Architects: KSOUL Studio
- Area: 165 m²
- Year: 2021
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Manufacturers: Dat Viet, Dulux, EUROTO, Kohler, MaiKa
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Professionals: Ksoul Studio
Hybrid Houses: 15 Projects that Explore the Variations of the Home Office
It's not uncommon to see housing complexes integrate commercial spaces at the ground level, but the challenge of mediating between the private and public realm on a smaller scale, especially with the rise of the home office, has forced architects to explore all aspects of the structure, from the topography it sits on, to the direction of light and wind, to the design and organization the domestic space. This interior focus explores different design solutions that show how architects and interior designers transformed their projects from a living space into a mixed-use typology, taking into account privacy, flexibility, functionality, and predefined spatial requirements.
YAMA Coffee Shop / KSOUL Studio
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Architects: KSOUL Studio
- Area: 195 m²
- Year: 2021
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Manufacturers: DIDA, Dulux, EUROTO, Jotun, NEWLANDO
Too Can Cafe / SOAR (space oddity architect)
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Architects: SOAR (space oddity architect)
- Area: 98 m²
- Year: 2019
September Cafe / Red5studio + Ben Decor
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Architects: Ben Decor, Red5studio
- Area: 260 m²
- Year: 2020
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Manufacturers: Jati Mosaic, Zero Furniture
NOC Coffee Co. / Studio Adjective
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Interior Designers: Studio Adjective
- Area: 140 m²
- Year: 2018
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Manufacturers: Bentu, Cobelco, Laminam
Botanic Museum Cafeteria / arche708
What Makes a City Livable to You?
Mercer released their annual list of the Most Livable Cities in the World last month. The list ranks 231 cities based on factors such as crime rates, sanitation, education and health standards, with Vienna at #1 and Baghdad at #231. There’s always some furor over the results, as there ought to be when a city we love does not make the top 20, or when we see a city rank highly but remember that one time we visited and couldn’t wait to leave.
To be clear, Mercer is a global HR consultancy, and their rankings are meant to serve the multinational corporations that are their clients. The list helps with relocation packages and remuneration for their employees. But a company’s first choice on where to send their workers is not always the same place you’d choose to send yourself to.
And these rankings, calculated as they are, also vary depending on who’s calculating. Monocle publishes their own list, as does The Economist, so the editors at ArchDaily decided to throw our hat in as well. Here we discuss what we think makes cities livable, and what we’d hope to see more of in the future.
Hui Coffee Lifestyle / Vanished Architecture
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Architects: Vanished Architecture
- Area: 200 m²
- Year: 2017
101 café / FAR OFFICE
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Architects: FAR OFFICE
- Area: 172 m²
- Year: 2017