A team of students from the Faculty of Architecture at Poznań University of Technology, consisting of: Wiktoria Ciszak, Karolina Kozłowska, Michalina Linkowska received an award for the best student work in the international competition "The Brewed Bar" organized by Archmello Competiton. The goal was to design an urban café in Pune, India.
The main objective of the competition "The Brewed Bar - An Urban Coffeehouse Design Challenge" was to propose a coffeehouse that is a kind of "coffee house" in Pune, India. The requirements called for the introduction of different spaces: open, semi-open and private, so that each visitor would find the perfect place for himself.
polish students appreciated
The submitted works were evaluated by a two-member jury consisting of: Huzefa Rangwala and Jasem Pirani of MuseLAB. They awarded the prize for the best student project toWiktoria Ciszak, Karolina Kozłowska and Michalina Linkowska from Poznan University of Technology. Their work was carried out as part of the "Workplace Architecture 2" class under the direction of Pawel Kobrynski.
The heart of the designed complex is the swimming pool
© Wiktoria Ciszak, Karolina Kozłowska, Michalina Linkowska
We began our work by carefully analyzing the project plot, determining its advantages and disadvantages. A global look at the culture and climate of India with special attention to the social aspects of coffee drinking allowed us to define the basic design guidelines. This was a very important but rather lengthy process. Thanks to it, we knew what was most important to the local community and what we, as designers, could offer them to diversify and distinguish the designed facility," say the authors.
The project area is located in Pune
© Wiktoria Ciszak, Karolina Kozłowska, Michalina Linkowska
cafe in Pune
The 6,690-square-meter plot of land in Pune given by the competition organizers is located in a low-intensity area and is surrounded mainly by farm buildings. The greenery growing there is mainly shrubs of varying heights, which are the natural vegetation of India. Due to the high temperatures and significant exposure to natural sunlight, it became an important aspect for the architects to shade the designed spaces and introduce an air-cooling element - a swimming pool located in the center of the establishment. The view analysis indicated aesthetically pleasing landscape openings, especially from the south and east.
The students placed emphasis on the ecological character of the facility
© Wiktoria Ciszak, Karolina Kozłowska, Michalina Linkowska
The most important values for us were the introduction of the ecological character of the building and respect for the culture of India with highlighting the most characteristic and aesthetic details of Indian architecture. We always incorporate as much greenery as possible into our projects, and that was the case this time as well," add the students of Poznan University of Technology.
recycling coffee
The authors did not limit themselves only to the design of the coffee shop. Due to the very large area of the plot, the industrial nature of Puna and its good communication with large cities and the industrial character of the town, they expanded the project to include a coffee roasting plant, an office area, and facilities for employees. The site also included space for workshops and cupping tastings of roasted beans.
The premise includes coffee shops, a coffee roaster, workshop and work spaces
© Wiktoria Ciszak, Karolina Kozłowska, Michalina Linkowska
The main idea of the students was to realize the ecological premise of a "closed coffee cycle". They proposed to use coffee grounds, from which cups and other reusable utensils can be produced at the final stage. That's why special machines were introduced into the industrial part, designed for their production.
A fragment of the openwork at the entrance to the patio
© Wiktoria Ciszak, Karolina Kozłowska, Michalina Linkowska
brick openwork like fabric
The character of the building and its aesthetics were inspired by Indian culture. The architectural detail - a brick openwork was created by transforming the pattern found on Paithani, a hand-woven silk sari. It is manufactured in the state of Maharashtra, which includes the city of Pune. The openwork used by the architects introduces an interesting chiaroscuro effect to the interiors.
Inspired by the Paithani pattern, we decided to use this traditional motif in our design. During the transposition, we started with a geometric pattern. In subsequent simplifications it became a detail of the brick facade," say the authors.
A place for everyone
The leitmotif of the concept is the oval forms. The individual walls of the buildings were designed as convex. This idea is consistently continued also in the interiors, where individual zones are equipped with rounded tables, poufs and wavy seats.
cafe alcove
© Wiktoria Ciszak, Karolina Kozłowska, Michalina Linkowska
Movable walls allow for any division of space. The café can thus be a place for special events or large family gatherings. Zigzag-shaped separations are used to separate smaller sections. They provide privacy and tranquility for different groups of customers.
Zones proposed by the designers include: work areas, bar tables that complement the grab&go premise, an atmospheric room with a large table, tables for different numbers of people that can be combined as desired, and long w avy tables that wrap around palm trees for those who want to be as close to nature as possible.
The long wavy tables are outside the cafe
© Wiktoria Ciszak, Karolina Kozłowska, Michalina Linkowska
The heart of the complex is the swimming pool, which, in addition to cooling the air, creates a place for carefree enjoyment of Indian coffee surrounded by distinctive vegetation. The paths that make it possible to get around the patio are obscured by an overhanging roof covered with bamboo.
Functionally, the complex is a reflection of the "coffee cycle" complemented by our professed values and details taken from Indian culture," the award-winning architecture students conclude.
Read also about the design of a synergistic coffee roasting plant that could power Poznan.
