Archinect - News

The Architecture and Design Film Festival returns to Los Angeles with curated books and coffee provided by Archinect Outpost

2019-03-06T16:19:00-05:00

The Architecture and Design Film Festival returns to Los Angeles as it hosts a five-day event featuring 24 films devoted to architecture and design. From March 13-17 guests will be able to attend film screenings, witness engaging panel discussions, and listen to director Q&A's. With the Los Angeles Theatre Center as the festival's backdrop, the event's chosen location adds to the excitement for architecture and design enthusiasts.

In addition to the amazing films and panel discussions, an Archinect Outpost and Brutal Coffee Pop-Up will be providing a highly curated Selection of books, journals, design objects and bags of coffee, accompanied with free cups of Brutal coffee for festival goers.

Below is a list of a few highly anticipated films that will be shown during the festival.

Frank Gehry: Building Justice; Image courtesy of ADFF

Frank Gehry: Building Justice
Directed by Ultan Guilfoyle
Film Brief: Frank Gehry: Building Justice tells the story of the architect Frank Gehry’s invest...

First photos of Kengo Kuma-designed Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Tokyo

2019-02-28T14:36:00-05:00

After announcing the launch of its Reserve Roastery in Tokyo back in 2016, Starbucks has now given a look inside the Kengo Kuma-designed space. The store is Starbucks’ fifth Reserve Roastery, and the second time that the concept has opened outside of North America, following the Milan location launched last year.

The four-story coffee temple in Tokyo's Nakameguro neighborhood opened to the caffeine-deprived morning crowds at 7 a.m. today.

"The Tokyo Roastery is the only Starbucks Roastery location designed in collaboration with a local architect from the ground up," explains the project description.

Image: Starbucks

"The exterior was brought to life in collaboration with renowned Japanese architect Kengo Kuma. Envisioned by Liz Muller, Starbucks chief design officer and lead designer for all five Roasteries globally, the Roastery highlights the work of local craftsmen and women to create an enchanting destination for coffee exploration and discovery."

Image: Starbucks

"Upon entering the Roastery, customers are greeted by the world’s largest Starbucks Roastery coffee cask, four stories and more than 55 feet of blush-tinted copper adorned with hand-crafted copper cherry blossoms, which changes hues throughout the day in different lights. The expansive cask was built using the technique of tsuchi...

'Atlas of Brutalist Architecture' reflects a significant change in public opinion

2019-01-17T16:19:00-05:00

"If there was any lingering doubt that Brutalism — the architectural style derided for everything the name implies — was back in fashion, the “Atlas of Brutalist Architecture” quashes it with a monumental thump. At 560 pages representing some 878 works of architecture in over 100 countries, the outsize volume is part reference tool, part coffee table book, and certainly part of an ongoing design trend favoring big, big books."

It has been remarkable to see the dramatic change in public opinion towards brutalist architecture in the last few years. Not only has the style shed its identity as a blight on the majority of modern cities, but dozens of products have recently entered the market in honor of these monumental edifices.

Spread of "Atlas of Brutalist Architecture" Phaidon

Mimi Zeiger's review of 'Atlas of Brutalist Architecture,' the 560-page treatise to the movement now carried at Archinect Outpost, is a reflection of this recent phenomenon. "Today," Zeiger writes, "the architectural ugly duckling is a swan with an Instagram following. The monolithic and blocky design of Kanye West’s Yeezy headquarters in Calabasas was inspired by Brutalism. And this fall, Archinect, a digital platform for architecture based in Los Angeles, launched a line of coffee called Brutal in partnership with Yeekai Lim, a former architect and founder of Culver City’s Cognoscenti Coffee."

Brutal Coffee at Archinect Outpost. Pho...

Brutal Coffee ~ another week, another roasting... and new bags!

2018-12-13T20:00:00-05:00

Our first week's batch of Brutal coffee sold out quickly, and people are LOVING it. We have a new batch of freshly roasted beans in this week, with our new bags.

If you're in the LA area, swing by our holiday party this Saturday afternoon to try out our Guatemala and Brazil single-origins, and stay for some smognog (for grownups only), kids drinks and shopping while all of our inventory will be on a brief sale, from 10-50% off!

Not in LA? You can still order our products (including Brutal coffee) from our new online store at outpost.archinect.com

Archinect Outpost to host Holiday Party December 15th

2018-12-07T19:22:00-05:00

Join us next Saturday, December 15th, 11-3pm for a holiday sale of our curated inventory. Newly displayed and price-reduced items (some as much as 50%) will be available for purchase at Archinect Outpost, located at 900 East 4th Street, Los Angeles CA 90013.

Come taste our Brutal coffee, try on Sam Jacob-designed scarves, peruse our books and check out our limited-time sales. This is an ideal opportunity to get last minute gifts for yourself or your design-conscious friends and family members. We'll see you there!

Can't make it to the party? Check out our recently updated online store, where we are featuring the same items as those in the retail shop.

Archinect Launches Brutal Coffee

2018-12-07T12:23:00-05:00

We’re super excited to finally launch Brutal, a passion project that has been in the works for a long time.

Architects love coffee. Archinect loves coffee. So, we have made it our responsibility to source the best beans each season, offering balanced flavor profiles, with a perfect roast. Our own standards for coffee are very high, and we expect most architects will appreciate our demand for the best quality.

We are launching our new line with 2 carefully selected single source varietals – a Guatemala Ceiba, offering notes of tobacco, plum, and cane sugar; and a Brazil Yellow Diamond, with a profile of almond and dark chocolate. Both medium roasts were crafted to be excellent in a variety of preparations, so they are equally good as espresso, pour over, drip or french press.

Pick up a bag of coffee, today, at our shop, Archinect Outpost, in downtown LA’s Arts District or on our newly updated online store.

Yeekai Lim is our roasting partner, and the founder of Cognoscenti Coffee, o...