Laneway (Kaffeine)

Great Titchfield St - London

Timber decking and bluestone tiles respectively reference Australia generally and Melbourne in particular, where this type of stone was used extensively in the Victorian era. Boxes of timber decking function as seating and tables, alluding to the ubiquitous reuse of milk crates in contemporary Melbournian cafés. High-level mirror to the rear similarly creates an illusion of infinite space, recalling the flat Australian horizon. The compression of a Melbourne laneway is evoked by the longitudinal arrangement of the service counter and seating through the middle of the space, while the expansive area to the rear mimics the openness of the street to the front.

A number of previously latent elements of the London site are brought to the foreground, including Victorian floorboards, brickwork, and a traditional shop-front. An active tension is established between these found-object components of the existing building, and the transplanted spatial and formal devices that have been introduced.