Page-Turning Spaces: 5 Cafés We Love To Read In
Coffee shops and reading are the perfect combination. Here are our favorites from across the country.
By Stela Razzaque, Superscript November 15, 2013
The thoughtful design of our environment has the power to bring people together, serve as a relaxing escape, and also inspire our creativity. Here are five of our favorite coffee shops and bookstores in the United States that provide a homey charm, and a sensational space to devour your favorite designer monograph.
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Caffe Streets, Chicago
The primary goal for Architect Brent Norsman was to create a space of inspiration and a memorable experience. The evocative design of Caffe Streets consists of floor-to-ceiling glass, which allows pedestrian views of the vibrant, bamboo interior, backlit perforated metal panels, communal tables, and a walk-up coffee bar. The focal point of the space is by far the organic, sculpted ceiling, inspired by the barristas’ cappuccino creations. This topographical layering of bamboo is a feast for the eyes, and invokes [is “invokes” the right word here?] the imagination of its design-loving clientele.
D’Espresso, New York
This quirky coffee bar, D'Espresso, on Manhattan’s Madison Avenue is inspired by its prominent neighbor just a block away, the New York Public Library. Designed by the Manhattan design firm nemaworkshop, the space is flanked with tiles running across the ceiling, walls, and floor, each glazed with images of books. Another wall is covered in herringbone-patterned oak flooring, creating the allusion of the cafe being flipped sideways, and inspiring customers to look at things from a different perspective.
One Shot Coffee, Philadelphia
One of the first coffee shops to open its doors in Philadelphia, One Shot Coffee boasts a newly refurbished space, adorned with family heirlooms, industrial antiques, and furniture designed by local artisans. The owner, Melissa Baruno, wanted to create a space that reflected the artistic passion of the community. The team at SL Design used a combination of salvaged wood and vintage elements to create a homely, European feel. Most of the seating is located on the second floor of the building where there is a communal table, public displays of art, and a living room at the far end of the floor. Book-lovers can recline on the vintage leather sofas, and browse the collections stacked on a unique plumbers-pipe bookshelf.
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McNally Jackson, New York
From intimate nooks with sumptuous lounge chairs for quiet reading, to a huge machine that prints, binds and trims custom-ordered paperback books, McNally Jackson is an aspirational place, where the act of reading and book-buying is celebrated. The translucent print machine named Espresso, draws from a cloud library of seven million titles, and churns out books like freshly baked cookies. Boasting more than eight thousand works of literature organized by geography, one can pick up a book and relax in the upstairs café designed by Front Studio where flying books dangle from the ceiling above.
Beachwood Café, Los Angeles
The new and improved Beachwood Café designed by architect Barbara Bestor, formerly known as the Village Coffee Shop, is a hidden gem nestled amid a strip of commercial buildings. The interior is cozy and stylish, with its vivid blue and yellow geometric flooring, whimsical wallpaper by local graphic designer Geoff McFetridge, exposed wooden beams, and mid-century style chairs. It’s a unique space, and one where a hip clientele can be found flicking through the latest design magazines.
Announcements
Louis Kahn: Architecture as Philosophy by John Lobell
Louis Kahn: Architecture as Philosophy
By John Lobell
Publisher: The Monacelli Press
Published: June 2020
Noted Louis I.Kahn expert John Lobell explores how Kahn’s focus on structure, respect for materials, clarity of program, and reverence for details come together to manifest an overall philosophy.
Our Days Are Like Full Years: A Memoir with Letters from Louis Kahn by Harriet Pattison
Our Days Are Like Full Years: A Memoir with Letters from Louis Kahn
By Harriet Pattison
Publisher: Yale University Press
Forthcoming: October 2020
An intimate glimpse into the professional and romantic relationship between Harriet Pattison and the renowned architect Louis Kahn. Harriet Pattison, FASLA, is a distinguished landscape architect. She was Louis Kahn’s romantic partner from 1959 to 1974, and his collaborator on the landscapes of the Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, and the F.D.R. Memorial/Four Freedoms Park, New York. She is the mother of their son, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Nathaniel Kahn.
Louis I. Kahn: The Nordic Latitudes
Louis I. Kahn: The Nordic Latitudes
By Per Olaf Fjeld and Emily Randall Fjeld
Publisher: University of Arkansas Press
Published: October 4, 2019
A new and personal reading of the architecture, teachings, and legacy of Louis I. Kahn from Per Olaf Fjeld’s perspective as a former student. The book explores Kahn’s life and work, offering a unique take on one of the twentieth century’s most important architects. Kahn’s Nordic and European ties are emphasized in this study that also covers his early childhood in Estonia, his travels, and his relationships with other architects, including the Norwegian architect Arne Korsmo.
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Ballpark: Baseball in the American City by Paul Goldberger
Ballpark: Baseball in the American City
By Paul Goldberger
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Published: May 2019
An illustrated, entirely new look at the history of baseball: told through the stories of the vibrant and ever-changing ballparks where the game was and is staged, by the Pulitzer Prize-winning architectural critic.
David King: Designer, Activist, Visual Historian by Rick Poynor
David King: Designer, Activist, Visual Historian
By Rick Poynor
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: September 2020
A comprehensive overview of the work and legacy of David King (1943–2016), whose fascinating career bridged journalism, graphic design, photography, and collecting. King launched his career at Britain’s Sunday Times Magazine in the 1960s, starting as a designer and later branching out into image-led journalism, blending political activism with his design work.
Teaching Graphic Design History by Steven Heller
Teaching Graphic Design History
By Steven Heller
Publisher: Allworth Press
Published: June 2019
An examination of the concerted efforts, happy accidents, and key influences of the practice throughout the years, Teaching Graphic Design History is an illuminating resource for students, practitioners, and future teachers of the subject.
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