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Design Details: WatchHouse Coffee
- Project: WatchHouse Coffee
- Location: 30 Fenchurch St., London, England
- Opened: 2024
- Architect/Designer: EBBA (London)
- Photography: Ståle Eriksen
The design of the WatchHouse Coffee location at 30 Fenchurch Street in Central London’s Financial District draws inspiration from the modernist architectural features of lobbies found in civic buildings.
“The project is rooted in an approach to craft an inviting, unique space whilst establishing a sense of connection to the broader building,” the London-based architecture and design firm EBBA said in a description shared with DCN. “The concept store was developed to echo the clean lines and grid patterns characteristic of Miesian buildings, introducing sculptural objects throughout to partition the space.”
The firm used the flexible nature of the space to explore intricate connections between coffee making and the customer experience, attempting to create something “beautiful and inviting” while also being “highly functional.”
“Central to the design is an eight-meter stainless steel counter, which acts as a stage for the theater of coffee making to unfold but also as a communal workspace, nurturing a fluid motion of activity around the centerpiece,” EBBA said. “Whilst the adjacent atrium offers comfortable seating, we looked to carve out pockets of relaxation throughout the store itself, incorporating a large coffee table and bench which provides customers with moments of quiet respite as they await freshly brewed coffee.”
The studio designed and crafted each of the furniture pieces in the shop, including the sculpted steel counter and the large oak table made from solid blocks. EBBA said the table was designed to “emulate the aesthetic of stacked timber, complementing the grid-like ceiling and evoking a sense of organic unity.”
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