For us, “coffee inspired by our travels” is a concept that’s instantly gettable. We could relate.
For a couple of years, we’ve been working with Voyager through the exciting expansion of their cafe creation journey – from their original Santa Clara store to three thriving coffee shops around the Bay Area. And through the process, our relationship has evolved from one of shared values and aspirations into a mutually beneficial client–architect collaboration.
From the beginning, we connected with Voyager’s “coffee inspired by our travels” concept. And in many ways, our third collaboration with owners Lauren and Sam allowed us to deliver a fully realized embodiment of their already successful brand.
For Voyager’s second Santa Clara coffee shop, The Alameda, we were finally gifted a whole interior space – an empty palette with which we could express the “who, what, why” of the brand. Wall to floor sailboat tiles, shelving that evokes a web of ladders in a ship, a wood service counter carved like the hull of a boat, eclectic “zones” of seating evoking different regions of the world. The Voyagers joined us through several iterations of the design, fine-tuning every detail as we traveled towards our final destination on our two-year journey. At least for now.
When we’re dealing with a brand in its infancy, it’s important we spend time to understand the goals and aspirations of the minds behind it. What gets them out of bed in the morning? What makes them unique? Who are they communicating with? And, most importantly, what’s the mission behind their message? Developing a particular design aesthetic that aligned with the Voyager brand was challenging for this series of project in that we had to ask a lot of questions, throw a lot of ideas, images, and concepts onto the wall and see what sticks. This exploration process took us quite a bit of time and effort in the early design phases, but the end result is something that ends up being invaluable for their space and for the future of their brand.
For the Voyager The Alameda location, another challenge was that we were simultaneously working on another location in San Jose for the client and that location had to be wrapped up in only 45 days! Because of that, we took a month and a half break from the design of this project. But this gap in the design process, as well as the experience of going through a design challenge on another project with our client, armed us with a much deeper understanding of their brand and helped us design “The Alameda” in a much more mature way. Another challenge was how to maximize seating without compromising an airy and spacious room for customers. Linear perimeter shelving all throughout the space was our simple but effective solution.
For Voyager Craft Coffee, coffee and travel are best when they are experienced together. And that was our basis for this project, our third for the brand. Voyager’s nautical iconography was implemented subtly – colorful tiles shaped like sailboats (by Fireclay Tile), hickory wood shelving built like the ladders on a ship, and a shiny wooden coffee counter shaped like the hull. While the inspiration might be obvious to the eye, the way we designed the space is less so. Distinct seating zones – like continents united by passages of water – allow for diverse group sizes and seating needs by way of custom laser etched planters. Here, the benefits become obvious the more you explore the space.
