The reinvented ‘Chai-khana’ Espresso
Text: Ar. Ahmed A Zuberi
Photography: Ar. Arif Haider
Sitting at the espresso café on a Thursday morning as I was waiting for a client to arrive, that it struck me: I was sitting primarily in an upscale Chai khana.
The chai khana has reinvented itself as the coffee serving café. These places are not unknown of for residents of Karachi for example ‘Café de Khan’ at Tariq road or for that matter the innumerous cafes in Saddar, but over time died out in popularity.
The café’s made their reappearance with realizing a desire of people to congregate, casually chat, eat, drink and be merry. The café becomes a place of intermediary level of formalness, not as casual as a fast food joint and neither as formal as a restaurant, just in the middle just right: A regular haunt, which is new, contemporary, and relaxed. That is the description of espresso.
The first outlet for espresso is at Zamzama tucked away, into one of its lanes not being flamboyant in anyway, unless looked for specifically one could miss it. It is almost secretive. The seating capacity is purposely limited to keep a comfortable atmosphere in a near claustrophobic space. A bar in the form of niches on one side and comfortable upholstered seats to the other The décor is inspired unsurprisingly by the coffee deep brown polishes, dark sofas and a few pendant lights creating a cozy ambience with, various displays of imported coffee beans.
If this was all that there was to it, would be no reason to write even a line about this design. The high point that lifts the coffee house to respectability, the element that gives it its own designed uniqueness is that the designer has used graphics as an integral design tool to communicate an intangible feeling. What I am pointing to is the backlit glowing feature wall with delicate waves, one would see rising from a hot cup of coffee. It is what creates the magic of the entire experience of this petite café. It is a visual that links the most prominent and yet intangible feature of the coffee house: the aroma of coffee.
Modern commercial design needs to take into account the variety of visual stimuli that can be used to make an effect on the consumer. Modern interiors are no longer just a functional and efficient space they are required to reflect the energy of the space.
With the computer aided design today the possibilities are endless; from the spatial arrangements in plan and section to the Typography of the title, to the print on the plates. Architecture is often a time termed as the mother of all arts, how many aspects of the space can be designed to convey a complete experience. This café shows strength of architecture design, wielding the power of brand definition.
Another aspect of design that is noteworthy is the evolution and reorganization of the initial design theme into two more very successful outlets: one at Khe-Shabaz and the other a smaller fixture in the Forum shopping center.
The Khe-Shabaz espresso is a much different animal then the small reclusive café at Zamzama. This restaurant is a larger, flamboyant even commercial. It is catering to the masses that have thrilled with the ambiance of the smaller haunt. Espresso on Shabaz takes advantage of better accessibility and better parking facilities than at Zamzama.
The café here is sizably larger than its predecessor. It is a two level outlet with better and multiple seating options catering to the multiple numbers and types of crowds. In the morning there are a few business types’ tryst, as myself, and more of ladies congregating before picking up their children from school. This ratio changes with the span of the day leading to professionals coming in for lunches, followed by the young and economically able arriving at night.
The café façade is a two storey entity that is defined by its long vertical wooden fins that have a multi-layered function. Firstly and most rightly they block out the harsh afternoon sun that wrecks havoc to the cooling bills secondly they being hinged are able to protect the restaurant from break-in without using those nasty looking grills and the occasional stone throwing mobs. Finally but in no means less important these fin gestures are a very sound design feature that allow the façade an element of surface variety, saving it from being just another flat wall surface with punctures for windows.
The most striking feature of the café is the dynamism that is creates with the sequence of spaces. The architect opted out of the more commercial habits of maximizing seating space with two full floors. The café is one and a half floors with the ground floor seating being a double height space.
The sequence of space is interesting as it helps keep visual connections with all parts of the café. One enters into a covered waiting area which opens up into the double height space. The stairs rather than being a single bulk are a slim pair of scissor stairs. The double height enables people to be in visual contact with each other giving a feeling of life and vibrancy to the café.
The design gesture that continues from the predecessor is the use of the wave graphic as an element linked to the coffee experience. In this café the graphic goes ahead and becomes more architectural in nature as a plane that sweeps up from the ground floor wraps itself across the ceiling and turns on the upper floor locking these spaces by a single design element.
The brand design evolved a step. It is a very commendable that all the elements that were working in the first outlet were not just aped in the second. The design was reassessed and remolded within the same theme.
The third and last outlet of espresso is at the Forum. This is an anti-thesis to first two setups. It is still efficient, it is still properly detailed but it lacks the zest and the life of the first two. The design is docile and does not cause a stir even with it being an open area in a mall. This last one is entirely dependant on the brand image that has already been created rather than helping to bolster it.
It seems the designer became bored of the same project; a lot of issues in the Form have not been dealt as intelligently as the previous designs. Firstly space definition: the thick stainless steel pipes is definitely taking away from the entire road side café look. They are too bulky, they are too high and do not assist in comfort of the consumer in anyway. The same boundary could be easily established with a lower bar, maybe a flat top becoming an arm rest for the consumers already shoved up against the boundaries. Next the ‘wave graphic’ is tossed in as a most utilitarian element of a roof of sorts for visual privacy from people climbing up the stairs. This element has been handled as an after thought. The thick bars, drooping roof in comparison to smart and taut usages in the older outlets, this mini outlet unfortunately does not hold its own.
The espresso coffee chain is a good example to any student of architecture as a design theme that has evolved and readapted to variations of site and yet holding a strong sense of its designed brand individuality; the haunt at Zamzama, the outlet at Shabaz and the roadside at the Forum.
Photography: Ar. Arif Haider
Sitting at the espresso café on a Thursday morning as I was waiting for a client to arrive, that it struck me: I was sitting primarily in an upscale Chai khana.
The chai khana has reinvented itself as the coffee serving café. These places are not unknown of for residents of Karachi for example ‘Café de Khan’ at Tariq road or for that matter the innumerous cafes in Saddar, but over time died out in popularity.
The café’s made their reappearance with realizing a desire of people to congregate, casually chat, eat, drink and be merry. The café becomes a place of intermediary level of formalness, not as casual as a fast food joint and neither as formal as a restaurant, just in the middle just right: A regular haunt, which is new, contemporary, and relaxed. That is the description of espresso.
The first outlet for espresso is at Zamzama tucked away, into one of its lanes not being flamboyant in anyway, unless looked for specifically one could miss it. It is almost secretive. The seating capacity is purposely limited to keep a comfortable atmosphere in a near claustrophobic space. A bar in the form of niches on one side and comfortable upholstered seats to the other The décor is inspired unsurprisingly by the coffee deep brown polishes, dark sofas and a few pendant lights creating a cozy ambience with, various displays of imported coffee beans.
If this was all that there was to it, would be no reason to write even a line about this design. The high point that lifts the coffee house to respectability, the element that gives it its own designed uniqueness is that the designer has used graphics as an integral design tool to communicate an intangible feeling. What I am pointing to is the backlit glowing feature wall with delicate waves, one would see rising from a hot cup of coffee. It is what creates the magic of the entire experience of this petite café. It is a visual that links the most prominent and yet intangible feature of the coffee house: the aroma of coffee.
Modern commercial design needs to take into account the variety of visual stimuli that can be used to make an effect on the consumer. Modern interiors are no longer just a functional and efficient space they are required to reflect the energy of the space.
With the computer aided design today the possibilities are endless; from the spatial arrangements in plan and section to the Typography of the title, to the print on the plates. Architecture is often a time termed as the mother of all arts, how many aspects of the space can be designed to convey a complete experience. This café shows strength of architecture design, wielding the power of brand definition.
Another aspect of design that is noteworthy is the evolution and reorganization of the initial design theme into two more very successful outlets: one at Khe-Shabaz and the other a smaller fixture in the Forum shopping center.
The Khe-Shabaz espresso is a much different animal then the small reclusive café at Zamzama. This restaurant is a larger, flamboyant even commercial. It is catering to the masses that have thrilled with the ambiance of the smaller haunt. Espresso on Shabaz takes advantage of better accessibility and better parking facilities than at Zamzama.
The café here is sizably larger than its predecessor. It is a two level outlet with better and multiple seating options catering to the multiple numbers and types of crowds. In the morning there are a few business types’ tryst, as myself, and more of ladies congregating before picking up their children from school. This ratio changes with the span of the day leading to professionals coming in for lunches, followed by the young and economically able arriving at night.
The café façade is a two storey entity that is defined by its long vertical wooden fins that have a multi-layered function. Firstly and most rightly they block out the harsh afternoon sun that wrecks havoc to the cooling bills secondly they being hinged are able to protect the restaurant from break-in without using those nasty looking grills and the occasional stone throwing mobs. Finally but in no means less important these fin gestures are a very sound design feature that allow the façade an element of surface variety, saving it from being just another flat wall surface with punctures for windows.
The most striking feature of the café is the dynamism that is creates with the sequence of spaces. The architect opted out of the more commercial habits of maximizing seating space with two full floors. The café is one and a half floors with the ground floor seating being a double height space.
The sequence of space is interesting as it helps keep visual connections with all parts of the café. One enters into a covered waiting area which opens up into the double height space. The stairs rather than being a single bulk are a slim pair of scissor stairs. The double height enables people to be in visual contact with each other giving a feeling of life and vibrancy to the café.
The design gesture that continues from the predecessor is the use of the wave graphic as an element linked to the coffee experience. In this café the graphic goes ahead and becomes more architectural in nature as a plane that sweeps up from the ground floor wraps itself across the ceiling and turns on the upper floor locking these spaces by a single design element.
The brand design evolved a step. It is a very commendable that all the elements that were working in the first outlet were not just aped in the second. The design was reassessed and remolded within the same theme.
The third and last outlet of espresso is at the Forum. This is an anti-thesis to first two setups. It is still efficient, it is still properly detailed but it lacks the zest and the life of the first two. The design is docile and does not cause a stir even with it being an open area in a mall. This last one is entirely dependant on the brand image that has already been created rather than helping to bolster it.
It seems the designer became bored of the same project; a lot of issues in the Form have not been dealt as intelligently as the previous designs. Firstly space definition: the thick stainless steel pipes is definitely taking away from the entire road side café look. They are too bulky, they are too high and do not assist in comfort of the consumer in anyway. The same boundary could be easily established with a lower bar, maybe a flat top becoming an arm rest for the consumers already shoved up against the boundaries. Next the ‘wave graphic’ is tossed in as a most utilitarian element of a roof of sorts for visual privacy from people climbing up the stairs. This element has been handled as an after thought. The thick bars, drooping roof in comparison to smart and taut usages in the older outlets, this mini outlet unfortunately does not hold its own.
The espresso coffee chain is a good example to any student of architecture as a design theme that has evolved and readapted to variations of site and yet holding a strong sense of its designed brand individuality; the haunt at Zamzama, the outlet at Shabaz and the roadside at the Forum.
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