The next coffeehouse?

What will the next generation third place look like? Architect Magazine asked five architectural firms to provide their unique answers which are presented in the article, The Next Starbucks. Clockwise from top left, there’s a definite coffee bar theme:

BARbucks by designLAB, Boston – Coffee served bartender style like at a bar for people that want a more social solo experience. This is how coffee is served in Italian espresso bars. designLAB also presents AUTObucks, the equivalent of the self check-out at the supermarket.

Drink/Think THIN, by Studio Works, Los Angeles and Beijing – This is definitely something you’d expect from L.A., with the idea of thin stretched out coffee bar occupying the edge of a building and the edge of a sidewalk, providing a duality of being in the street yet in the building.

Modular Community Kitchen, by Studios Architecture, New York – The coffeehouse as workplace, focused on the 60′ long communal table. More on this in the next entry.

Push-and-Pull Bar, by William E. Massie/Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, MI – Almost a perpendicular alternative to the THIN concept, a coffee bar protrudes out towards the sidewalk, providing a sort of take-out/outdoor service. The bar continues into the building for an indoor experience.

*$, by Pentagram Architects, New York – So named to reflect a brand associated with simple, fast, efficient, universal, the focus is on coffee and only coffee via two modes – fast on the bar, or slow at the tables.

Thanks to Braulio Agnese of Architect magazine for the reference and use of images.

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