Kuppi Coffee Company, a popular New Jersey coffee shop, is expanding across the river. Their second location, a modest 350sf space designed by Brooklyn-based firm commoncraft, is situated along the vibrant St. Marks Place in New York City's East Village.
Employing a range of rough and raw materials, commoncraft’s design of Kuppi Café seeks out the beauty in imperfection.
Upon entering the café, patrons are immediately enveloped by a distressed concrete plaster enclosure that seamlessly curves up the walls and onto the ceiling, wrapping and defining the front-of-house of the café. The corner of the space is anchored by a worn bluish plaster wall, its whitewashed finish slowly peeling away. A small opening at the rear of the enclosure offers a peek into the prep area.
Within the distressed concrete enclosure, a selection of elements define zones based on their varying materiality. The service counter and seating bench are clad in reddish terracotta bricks, stacked vertically in a rowlock course to expose their core & mortar "guts". Each terracotta volume is terminated by a course of cut bricks, further revealing the rough, imperfect cores. A stainless steel display shelf is inserted into the corner of the bluish plaster wall - a faint “Kuppi” logo wrapping the wall above. The material honesty of the space is further reinforced by a number of small details; floating stainless steel shelves, a freestanding glass splash guard, and delicate concrete pendant lights.
