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Issue 62 - Living in the Environment Issue

Issue 62

Living in the Environment Issue

Issue 62 is the first issue of the year and always a great time to put our best foot forward. With Adam Goodrum, the loveliest man in design, as Guest Editor, we draw on his insights as a furniture designer, artist and educator to look at the makers shaping our design world. Sustainability has never been more important, and increasingly this is a consideration from the start with projects designed to address their immediate environment as well as the longevity of the planet. From the coldest winters to the most tropical of summers, addressing how we live in the environment is crucial to creating the perfect home.

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Pastel Colours Champion This Indonesian Café By AlvinT Studio
HospitalityNarelle Yabuka

Pastel Colours Champion This Indonesian Café By AlvinT Studio

Indonesia

A new, pastel-hued café by AlvinT Studio in Jakarta, Indonesia, has been designed with an eye to encourage social interaction between strangers, as well as creating different clusters of seating.


How do you break the mould of the generic coffee shops that have mushroomed around Jakarta in recent years? And in so doing, how can you bring a meaningful experience to the ground floor of a large commercial building that by nature favours a quick stop?

AlvinT Studio was up to the challenge, seeing the need to establish a social space and a variety of clustered seating arrangements. The goal was to support an experience of much more than food and drinks; it was to encourage social interaction between strangers.

Ottoman’s Coffee is defined by three colour-driven zones: a green bar, a blue dining area, and a pink amphitheatre. The green bar is smartly positioned at the corner of the café, like an anchor point that draws people to watch the baristas at work. Inclusive and open, the bar is transparent and performative and suitable for perched encounters on bar stools or a quick takeaway break on foot.

Adjacent to this clustering zone, and facing the main lobby space of Sopo Del Tower, is the pink amphitheatre – a stage set for watching the passing parade and allowing it to watch you. Says Alvin Tjitrowirjo, founder of AlvinT Studio, “The purpose is to encourage social interaction between strangers, creating a space where conversation flows between tables, personalities and space.”

The platforms of the amphitheatre become a stage for social encounters and the expression of one’s presence in the space. Generously placed power outlets encourage allow you to charge your devices while you enjoy the coffee and the view. A variety of loose furniture pieces bypass formality and instead encourage a more casual mode of inhabitation and potential interaction.

The third and final zone is a blue area adjacent to the kitchen, containing tables and chairs. Tucked away in the inner reaches of the floor plan, this zone is a focused space for consumption and discussion in small groups. All the furniture was designed specifically for the project.

Ottoman’s Coffee is a space that disrupts the formula of commercial lobby environments with its urban emphasis on zones that gesture to the adjacent circulation space.

AlvinT Studio
alvin-t.com

Photography by Sefval Mogalana.

Ottomans Coffee AlvinT Studio cc Sefval Mogalana

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Narelle Yabuka

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AlvinT StudioArchitecturecafecafe designCafe ExperienceColour BlockingdesignindonesiainteriorsNarelle yabuka


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Issue 62 - Living in the Environment Issue

Issue 62

Living in the Environment Issue

Issue 62 is the first issue of the year and always a great time to put our best foot forward. With Adam Goodrum, the loveliest man in design, as Guest Editor, we draw on his insights as a furniture designer, artist and educator to look at the makers shaping our design world. Sustainability has never been more important, and increasingly this is a consideration from the start with projects designed to address their immediate environment as well as the longevity of the planet. From the coldest winters to the most tropical of summers, addressing how we live in the environment is crucial to creating the perfect home.

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