MCafe
Manhattan Mall, NYC
2003
MCafe was a prototype for a chain of take-out cafes, designed as a reconfigurable set of components for various interior situations: Floor Pad/Milk Bar, Lighting/Security Gate Cover, Sanitary Wet Block, Work Counter, Service Counter.
The project interpreted a ‘Mocha” toned visual and tactile palette in off-the shelf industrial materials hard and soft.
The Service Counter and Floor/Milk Bar were in different shades of soft sheet rubber, the Lighting/Security Cover and Sanitary Wet Block in different shades of hard raw phenolic resin panel, the Work Counter in Stainless Steel. Text is integral.
The first installation, in the crowed mid-market Manhattan Mall, a hub for underground subway links, was so successful as a site to sell coffee, unfortunately, that Starbucks out-bid the lease, tore the project down and replaced it with a Starbucks