The pleasure of having coffee can depend as much on the surroundings as the brew itself. Coffee lovers in Vadodara are in for a treat as a brand new café opens up in the city of palaces and temples. Designed by The Crossboundaries, Modernist Coffee with its clean lines and flowing spaces, green terraces and water bodies is not your average café. “There are very few places in Vadodara which offer solace, good views and ample space to breathe. The site came with these coveted benefits. We decided to make the most of it and turn the café into an open plan, barrier free layout suitable for co-working, art exhibitions and gatherings. The idea was to expand the experience beyond a cup of coffee,” explains Harsh Boghani, founder and principal architect of the firm.
The Location
Nestled in a high rise building, the café is a peaceful oasis away from the hustle and bustle of Vadodara, Gujarat. Awash with special light, the industrial café features craftsmanship with personality-filled interiors. The intimately immersive environment with large, open spaces is designed for flexibility.
The Flow
The 2,250-square-feet metal and concrete cafe features floor-to-ceiling windows and long, shared tables ideal for working lunches. A sculptural installation made of raw jute and wooden beads depicting spilling coffee beans makes a great first impression and imparts a playful feeling to the café's understated aesthetic. The rawness of exposed brickwork and pendant lights fashioned from discarded jute bags create a natural oasis. Large oversized windows light up the interiors and add dramatic contrast. An imposing and spacious bar with a brickwork clad kitchen and a black granite counter bring life to the design.
Settle Down
The seating involves high-bar stools, sleek and stackable chairs and tables with a burnt black wood-finished top. “The role of furniture in this café goes beyond fulfilling needs of seating and storage. These creators of space when removed or rearranged, create different types of spaces within the café. Sometimes a regular café evening can be transformed into an intimate art gathering by removing and rearranging furniture pieces. An art exhibition can flow into a night of music and performances, spilling over onto the terraces and lounges,” adds Boghani.
A lightweight and delicate system of partitions ensure seamless flow of beverages, food and people between the kitchen, bar and the seating area. “The vertical partitions were designed to impart maximum transparency, through the 8mm clear glass panels, housed in a thin MS flat section. Running on a thin channel, the glass screens are almost non-existent, while allowing for privacy and acoustic cut-off, when needed,” says Boghani.
Ground Level
The flooring made of graphite pigmented-microcrete adds a refreshing contrast to the raw and textured finish of the dana plaster of the ceiling. The main service core which holds the pantry, ducts, customer restrooms and storage have been sagaciously clad in matt-black ACP sheets to form a “black box” that is visible yet invisible to the workings of the café. Yet another interesting feature at the café are the metal plates installed across the length of a wall. These provide a cosy home to books, board games and assorted art pieces. Eclectic, homely and full of personality it suits the industrial vibe of the space.
Green Code
The highlight of the café are the two distinctly designed terraces. The terrace on the west with its angular parapets, planters and high tables makes for an excellent spot for performances and co-working under the sky. The other side of the terrace which holds an infinity edged pool and abundant greens invokes an opulent dimension to the terrace. “We envisioned an array of nine jute lights gently reflecting in the infinity pool. As the eye travels across the matt blackish café floor towards the glow of the terrace beyond, the sky is reflected in the infinity pool, sometimes with glimpses of birds and greens. This calm, meditative space was designed in the double-height volume, and is finished in hand-picked black granite surfaces,” points out Boghani.
Lights
The carefully designed and selected lighting which comprises an array of bent GI pipes running across the ceiling and along the beams add some eye candy to this set up. The pipes terminate in a bent curve, with a cylindrical spot-light fixture at its end. “The radius of each curve has been carefully calculated and executed in place, to precisely illuminate a spot. In order to specially demarcate an area in one of the seating galleries, a row of track lights run parallel to two beams, leaving the central ceiling area untouched. This throws diffused light in a space which is intended for multiple use, especially as a makeshift art gallery showcasing eclectic artwork. Apart from designing lights to highlight artwork, some light fixtures themselves have been designed as a work of art. In the central bay, linear lights spanning between beams are uniquely fashioned out of brown medicine bottles and metal sheeting. This gives a brown-yellow gentle glow to the space,” explains Boghani.
Sustainability Matters
Apart from incorporating sprawling windows that let in ample natural air and light to help cut down on extra light fixtures and electricity this café also makes clever use of materials in the design. Discarded gunny bags have been refashioned as eye catching art installations and medicine bottles have been repurposed as linear lights. An industrial pulley finds a second life at the main door as an auto-door closure system.
The cafe is open with social distancing measures in place, from 9 am to 9 pm
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