Community Cafe

The Community Cafe serves as a neutral interaction space between inhabitants and the public, where people can eat together and participate in the sensory aspects of cooking.

Focused on widening inhabitants social opportunities through activity, people are invited to take time to connect over a sit-in lunch. Welcoming people to buy from the Cafe or bring their own food.

Contributing to a multi-stimulatory eating experience, the smells and sounds of cooking heightens the taste of local produce grown in the Community Garden and Walled Gardens adjacent to the Complex.

Encouraging multi-age involvement in cooking, the central kitchen accommodates public/private events and workshops. Blending front and back of house aims to create an open atmosphere, enabling the sharing of skills and knowledge around cooking and ingredients.

Reconfigurable suspended lighting and seating arrangements serve the activities and seasonal needs of the Cafe. Cable lengths on pendant lamps may be hooked to alternate positions to match table layouts.

Eating outdoors is encouraged in warmer weather, allowing people to enjoy sociable meals with views across the Community Gardens.

The interior provides shelter in colder weather, enabling social connections to be retained year round.

Innovative materiality and FFE specifications aid the creation of a stimulating and sustainable interior.

Dining chairs formed of Solidwool Welsh Mountain biocomposite strike the balance between practicality and tactility. Utilising locally sourced waste wool to create a durable and characterful finish.

Nunoko Pendant lamps are grown using organic mycelium biocomposite, when composted, this biodegradable material adds nutrients to the soil, forming part of the food cycle.

Community Cafe; Specifications;

- Resident, custom Pier Dining Chair in Solidwool, Welsh Mountain biocomposite

- Resident, Carousel custom Armchairs in Kvadrat, Vidar 4 0146

- Nunoko, Kepure and Kepurele Pendant Lamps in mycelium biocomposite

- Ignorance is Bliss, Ceramic Tile in MTPS_1, glaze contains 1.5% mix metal waste

- Rugvista, Seaby Rugs in Rust Red

- Custom kitchen in Scottish Wood, Scottish birchtimber

- Custom dining tables and coffee table in Umber Stained Oak

Materiality/Finishes;

- Lime plaster walls

- Aren Bianco Limestone tiles

The existing portion of flat roof is replaced with pitched beams, visually integrating their sculptural forms with the remaining parts of the cafe’s ceiling.

Solidwool, Welsh Mountain Biocomposite

Nunoko, Kepure Pendant Lamp

Resident, Carousel custom Armchairs in Kvadrat, Vidar 4 0146 is

Formed of 30mm thick Scottish birch-timber, the open grid structure of the central kitchen units is highlighted by box joint detailing and 3mm shadow gaps around cabinet doors.

Incorporating a 450mm high window seat gives inhabitants a rest point.

Stacked Ignorance is Bliss tiles in MTPS_1 add patterning and texture with its monochromatic glaze, speckled with 1.5% metal waste.

Section Detail B describes the staggered heights of the kitchen island, designed for people to gather and cook together. Closed units with built-in cabinets are used while standing, opposite, an open countertop at 790mm high is tailored to the needs of wheelchair users.