The project is an interior build-out at the Gansevoort Hotel South in Miami Beach. The design seeks to emphasize the proportions of the shell by juxtaposing two distinct volumes. The space is divided longitudinally into a compressed mezzanine which contains the service areas, and a double-height volume which is defined by a wall of metal coffee cans. This strategy generates additional leasable square footage, while engaging the party wall condition through the use of side-diffused, artificial illumination.

The shop only receives natural light front the facade; conceptually we introduced artificial illumination from the side in the form of a large "window". Metal coffee cans emphasize the height of the space, while the service area is contained behind a textured oak wall.

The color palette is derived from the industrial process which transforms the coffee bean. The pale pre-roasted bean color influenced the tone of the maple bench that wraps one side of the shop, while the dark roasted bean color is used for the tone of the board and batten oak planks that clad the service area. During our initial visit to the coffee factory, we were most impressed by the piling of coffee cans up to 30' high. This idea of stacking is also implemented in the front counter, which is made up of more than 40 slabs of carrarra marble. Furthermore, the double height space is defined by 2,697 stacked metal coffee cans - whose simple design is reminiscent of the early Art Deco motifs of New York and Miami Beach.

The furniture was selected based on the following: (1) to emphasize and exaggerate certain aspects of the space, through perspectival illusions (2) to complement the materiality of the shop - oak/maple/marble/terrazzo (3) to provide a variety of seating conditions - a fast paced, quick turnaround of customers downstairs, and a more relaxed lounge atmosphere upstairs.

Completion Date: 2008

Architectural Design: NC-office

Client: Rowland Coffee Roasters / Gansevoort Hotel South

Collaborators: Peter Nedev, Elizabeth Cardona, Cristina Canton, Nikolay Nedev, Mauricio Gonzalez

Consultants: Popov Engineers, Inc. (MEP), Don Shakelford (Structural)

Contractor: RCC Construction

Photographer: Michael Stavaridis