Fact File
Location: Vadodara, Gujarat
Size: 210 sq m
Principal Architect: Harsh Boghani
Photography by: Ishita Sitwala, The Fishy Project
Modernist Coffee by The Crossboundaries has been conceived as a reflection of the contemporary typology that cafés are more than just eateries. They have morphed into art galleries, co-working and gathering spaces, and more. As typologies of cafés become more than just eateries, transforming into art galleries, co-working spaces, and gathering spaces around the world, the design brief for Modernist Coffee was to cleverly unite various concepts. Using the brand’s idea of “spaces, people, and coffee” to intermingle and flow into each other, the café was to be conceived as a modern crossroads where coffee culture seamlessly merged with art and public life.
By taking the client brief forward and pushing the boundaries of what a “new café” typology means, we evolved fresh ideas about how cafés, art spaces, and performance spaces could coexist and thrive. We decided to create seamless partitions, an infinity water body, and green terraces to expand the experience of just having a cup of coffee. Part of The Crossboundaries’ rapidly evolving signature style, this café was approached with a fresh outlook on materials, textures, and the meaning of art. We wanted to create a one-of-a-kind coffee-savouring experience by using materials in their raw, natural state and displaying the properties of ageing and distress on them. An open bar and service counter were envisioned to foster a free-flowing customer and barista relationship.
There are few places in our growing city that offer us solace, good views, and ample space to breathe. The site chosen by the clients for Modernist came with these coveted benefits, as well as two beautiful open-to-sky terraces to invite the wind and sun. We decided to make the most use of these spaces and turn the café into an open-plan, barrier-free layout suitable for art exhibitions and gatherings. What is more comforting than the aroma of coffee wafting through an open space? In keeping with our design philosophy of experimenting and innovating with a diverse material palette, we made extensive use of metals, wood, and dressed plaster. With seamless dark micro-crete flooring and exposed brick cladding, the aim was to give a raw, unfinished, and edgy look. Sleek metal partitions with clear glass are used to give a sense of openness. As part of an ongoing quest for art, we created lighting fixtures and sculptures out of jute and fibre; these are displayed around the café.
Necessity creates innovation, and we always look for challenges to innovate! A great example is the grid of precisely calculated bent lights. Running across the ceiling and along the beams is an array of bent-GI pipes, grouped equidistantly and fluidly and ending at different lengths. 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 put into place to precisely illuminate a spot. Also, apart from designing lights to highlight artwork, some light fixtures have been designed as works of art. In the central bay, linear lights spanning between beams are uniquely fashioned out of brown medicine bottles and metal sheeting and are named “cyclotrons.” Another unique feature of this café is the furniture selection, which forms a physical catalogue of the eclectic furniture brand, Olvvi. Stools, café tables, high chairs, and loose furniture—all are part of the furniture brand’s display, where there is a playground of furniture to buy within the café.
