Typology: Café Evolution of Café: A Dynamic in Culture and Space Haardikaa Goswami z5246178
Evolution of Café: A Dynamic in Culture and Space Introduction Coffee is the most celebrated legal drug in the world. More than half of the world experiences coffee as more than a beverage. It is the reason for most of the small ‘coffee breaks’ at work, to catch up with old friends, or to go on a first date. Today, a coffee takeaway plays a major role in the hustle of our day to day lives. The invention that made “coffee on the go” possible would be disposable paper cups and sipper caps. In current day scenario, coffee makes it possible to escape one’s busy lifestyle and engage socially, or to find a favourite reading corner in the city’s most celebrated café.
Brief History Café as we see today, did not have the same meaning a while ago. Coffee houses were the first “cafes” of an urban sphere that came to exist as a space in the public realm. There is no mention in the histories of coffee houses of such establishments outside the cities (Pozos, 2015). Therefore, one thing is sure, that coffeehouses were established with the idea of creating a space where people can gather in an urban setting. The history of coffee houses traces back to 1510, when coffee consumption outside Sufi devotional services took place. By 1511, coffee houses gained an acute popularity, that it created suspicion among officials in Mecca. Since, alcohol was prohibited in Islam, coffee houses became a place for social gathering, but also places for immoral activities in Mecca, forcing their shut down in the entire city. A similar trend was observed in many parts of the world, resembling cafes to taverns. Coffee houses were introduced in Turkey in 1550s, and the activities revolved around sharing coffee. People from different social classes would gather and share the common favouritism for coffee. Coffee houses were one of their own kind third places, places that are separated from work-home dichotomy, places that are an intersection of public-private spheres. In 17th century, coffeehouses were introduced in Europe, which were not as exotic as its coffee, because there was already a pattern of social gathering spaces. In 1650s, when coffee houses started taking place of typical spaces of social gatherings like the churches or learning centre in universities, which came with set traditional practices in terms of social behaviour and freedom. These were the first kind of coffee houses that came without the boundaries of gender dynamics, when women were confined in domestic spheres. However, social flexibility was increasing in these spaces, exposing women to the coffee house culture, but maintaining their utmost modesty remained a must. It is important to question how space acted in these multiple social transformations that took place in coffee houses. Why was it so easy to resemble a coffee house to a tavern, what shaped the similar “immoral behaviour” in both the spaces? How flexibility involving gender in coffee houses was evolved from the spatial organisation? The difference between coffee house and other spaces like restaurants, taverns, etc. was not in their spatial organisation but in the way that they served coffee. The first coffee houses in Europe retained Ottoman style of apperances, highly decorated, and formalised in an existing urban structure of businesses and political set up, providing an alternate to official meeting spaces. It was in 18th century that coffeehouses evolved from the function of just serving coffee. This secondary function mainly involved reading. This was the first time, that cafes started providing for this secondary function, by arranging for newspapers and books within the café space. Not before the early 20th century, “coffee shops or cafes” started evolving as distinct spaces that we know now.
1
Evolution of Café: A Dynamic in Culture and Space
Figure 2: Old China Photography, Cafe 20th Century, Available: www.miifotos.com
Figure 1: The lively Viennese café at the beginning of the twentieth century, Available: http://zblogowani.pl/wpis/16026384/carla-monterozlota-skora
The Evolution: Time and Space Taking the example of Paragon café, established in 1915 in Katoomba, NSW, one can see that there has not been much of a difference while comparing it to any other restaurant or bar that may even exist today. It captures an essence of private sphere in a public space. It was different in the way it appealed to the tourists being in the upper hills of NSW. It was one of the many Greek cafes that formed heritage genre, confining to decorated interiors with heavy wood work and dim lighting. The grid arrangement of furniture makes it a formal setting, suggesting a semi-formal usage of space, for example, small meetings or official gatherings, creating an intangible enclosure.
Figure 3: Paragon Postcard, 1970’s – note original 1930’s fabric on the chairs and red neon lighting, 65 Katoomba St, Katoomba NSW, 1970, Available: http://theparagonhistory.com.au/gallery-2/historical-images-2/index.html
2
Evolution of Café: A Dynamic in Culture and Space By mid 20th century, cafes had gained utmost popularity among variable generations and age groups. The proximity of time that an average person spent in the café had increased so much, that it became a part of people’s daily routine. Soon enough, food was introduced in café alongwith coffee. One of these cafes that gained extreme popularity because of its cafe food, was Bill and Toni’s Italian café established in 1965 in Sydney. Bill and Toni’s “homely environment” was cheerful and affordable. Creating openess through its arched passageways, staggered furniture arrangement, warm white lighting, overlapping inside-outside relationship and a strong contextual interaction, Bill and Toni represents the freedom of obvious social behaviours that were observed in the previous coffee houses. Till date, it encompasses the rich café culture that it has witnessed throughout these years.
Figure 4: Bill and Toni's Cafe, Outsie-Inside Interaction, 74 Stanley St., Alana Dimou, 2017, Available: https://www.broadsheet.com.au/sydney/restau rants/bill-tonis
Figure 5: Bill and Toni's Homely Interior, 72 Stanley St, Sydney, Available: https://www.goodfood.com.au/bill--tonisdarlinghurst/bill--tonis-20130622-32esx
Cafes started redefining the meaning of human interaction and helped in evolution of other specialised spaces, for eg. Residences of aged, where evidently a culture would evolve because of introducing a café which was described as the “hub of activity” where residents actively participate in the choosing and consumption of preferred items of food and drink and can enjoy the stimulation of the busy atmosphere. Residents have also been able to continue to participate in life roles when community groups such as book clubs and older citizens’ clubs relocate their meetings to the café. (Andrew A, 2017) Mecca in Alexandria, Sydney is one of the best examples that one can refer to observe the curret café culture. With the increased hustling in lifestyle, it reflects a continuous movement in the space, an easy and loosened circulation, well thought natural light, open plan systems with an additional mezzanine, flexible seating, and a favorite corner for everybody. With a carefully executed pallete of materials and colours, Mecca café holds popularity among young and old for its experience. It brings back the charm and variety in form of the readers, the “cool” college group, the wise ones behind the newspapers and of course, the “coffee on the go” crowd. Bright, young and happy, as defined by its customers, Mecca sells the best experience in the price of a mug full of one of the most flavourful coffee(s) of Sydney.
3
Evolution of Café: A Dynamic in Culture and Space
Figure 6: Mecca Interior: Open Plan System, 26 Bourke Road, Alexandria NSW, Letecia Almedia, 2017, Available:https://www.broadsheet.com.au/sydn ey/alexandria/cafes/mecca-coffee-alexandria
Figure 7: Mecca Interior, 26 Bourke Road, Alexandria NSW, Letecia Almeida, 2017 Available:https://www.broadsheet.com.au/sydney/ alexandria/cafes/mecca-coffee-alexandria
Bibliography 1. Pozos R 2015, Sociology/ Anthropology Senior Thesis- Coffee Shops: Exploring Urban Sociability and Social Class in the Intersection of Public and Private Space, Self-Published 2. Moynihan C 2007, With a Café’s Evolution, A City with a Little Less Grit, The New York Times, New York, United States of America 3. Andrew A & Ritchie L 2017, Culture Change in Aged-Care Facilities: A Café's Contribution to Transforming the Physical and Social Environment, Taylor and Francis, Philadelphia, United States of America 4. Loader D 2011, The Reflective Principle: Café Culture, ACER, Australia
4