Coffee swirls.
The Rice Coffeehouse recently announced that they are planning a renovation, and have posted several concepts drawn up by Vaughn and Clarkson Architects. Of course, I can never leave well enough alone, and so when I read that the Coffeehouse was looking for additional input, I doodled some ideas of my own on the whiteboard in our office, and fired off an email.
Of course, I never heard anything back from the Coffeehouse, so I might as well share it with all of you. [Update 1/21/05: The Coffeehouse has moved ahead with a new concept.]
There’s more; read on. (I can’t seem to stop talking sometimes.)
From: dsandler
Subject: Coffeehouse renovation ruminations
Date: October 28, 2004 3:18:38 PM CDT
To: rice.edu <– coffee@Dear Coffeehouse,
I am thrilled that the Rice Coffeehouse has, at long last, a small budget for renovation! I first saw the excellent Vaughn & Clarkson concepts on the Coffeehouse website in late summer, and was pleased to see the drawings on display in the RMC this fall, but it wasn’t until the Thresher sidebar (issue 10/22) that I finally convinced myself to write to you with a few comments.
I have a feeling that, in the V&C floorplans, there may be too much focus on traditional, Starbucks-style, chairs-at-tables seating. This sort of configuration can be cozy and functional, and it is perhaps the typical “coffeehouse” seating model, but I feel that cozy seating requires a complementary enclosing space, and the Thresher article has made it clear that dramatic alteration of the Student Center floor plan is not an option. As long as the coffeehouse is in the middle of the increasingly overcrowded RMC, the need to create a more curious, compelling, and comfortable coffeehouse must be evaluated with sensitivity to the constraints placed on the overall setting.
So, the Coffeehouse is stuck in a high-traffic area, with a need to accommodate perhaps many patrons, not all of whom may be comfortable sitting at tables with one another. (Sad but true. Sometimes it’s just too early to be chatty, but I still want to sit down near the coffeehouse.) Most of the V&C designs provide very little space for patrons to “hang out”; those that do, provide Fondren-like cubicles which are too limiting and inefficient in use of space.
I think perhaps an alternative seating model, a set of “coffee bars” extending into the coffeehouse space, could bridge this gap. (I recently saw a similar thing in the new Reagan National in D.C., in which restaurants and coffeeshops have a similar sort of traffic situation.) Such seating might make a convenient place to sit with a laptop or the Thresher or perhaps just a double-espresso; conversation is easy but not required as it might seem to be when you’re seated at a small table.
To illustrate what I’m talking about, I’ve attached a miserable digital photo of an equally miserable whiteboard drawing. The important features of this doodle are:
- The coffee “bars” (some tables remain)
- Emphasis on warm lighting throughout
- Emphasis on interesting decoration with minimal cost (David Chien has proved that simple, colorful murals work on campus; in addition, I’ve added vinyl decals on tables to continue the motif, and on the floor to help orient patrons)
- Compatible with many of the V&C designs (i.e. you could use the circular buildout from Option A with great success)
So, there you go. If you have questions about my suggestions, feel free to ask; of course, you should also feel free to totally ignore them.
Good luck with the renovation!
Dan Sandler
WRC ’99
now a 1st-year CS grad student
cs.rice.edu <– dsandler@