The Kicking Horse Café is a renovation and revitalization of an existing café near Invermere, British Columbia. Consisting of updates to staff office space, back-of-house operations, commercial kitchen, and the café coffee service area, the design of the project seeks to embody the ethos of the Kicking Horse Coffee brand: “A café experience to wake up the world”.
The café was conceived of as a synthesis of four programmatic aspirations: a desire to reveal the operations of a world-class coffee house to visitors; the creation of a hospitality experience that fosters connection between patrons; an interpretive ‘lens’ to the spectacular landscape beyond, and as a curatorial space that highlights the sophistication of the coffee making process.
The design of the space prioritized a “coffee first” ethos, with all elements complementing, supporting, elevating, and connecting visitors to the coffee making experience. This approach is manifest in the material selection and use of mono chromatic blacks and greys that act as a direct representation of the coffee roasting process while simultaneously connecting to the natural tones of the surrounding mountain landscape.
To create a coffee experience rooted in human connection and interaction, the atmosphere of the space is defined by three theatrical design features: the coffee bar which acts as a stage, the coffee bar canopy, which functions as a proscenium; and a wood screen which acts as a conceptual ‘curtain’.
In plan, these three features create a seamless user experience as the coffee counter guides users into the space and readies an experience, mirroring the high function and quality of the coffee roasting process. The volumetric forms of the proscenium, created through folded metal plates, further define the spatial navigation of the cafe while offering animation and versatility that expresses the brand identity of Kicking Horse Coffee.
The wood screen wall acts as a transitional threshold, blurring the lines between interior and exterior, expectation and reality. This metaphor of real versus abstract is present in the material selection and form of the articulated wood screen. Locally sourced cross laminated cedar panels create an articulated array and embody the materiality of the surrounding forests, while the organic form of the screen undulates to create seating and product display spaces that directly abstracts the topography of the surrounding area.
Taken together, the interpretive detailing of the design features, and the curatorial nature of the space acts to showcase and exhibit the uniqueness of the Kicking Horse Coffee brand while creating an experience that integrates all the senses of aesthetic beauty: feel, aura, energy, and smell to create a defining and transformative coffee experience.
Client
Kicking Horse Coffee
Awards
2023 Canadian Interiors Best of Canada Award
The Kicking Horse Café is a renovation and revitalization of an existing café near Invermere, British Columbia. Consisting of updates to staff office space, back-of-house operations, commercial kitchen, and the café coffee service area, the design of the project seeks to embody the ethos of the Kicking Horse Coffee brand: “A café experience to wake up the world”.
The café was conceived of as a synthesis of four programmatic aspirations: a desire to reveal the operations of a world-class coffee house to visitors; the creation of a hospitality experience that fosters connection between patrons; an interpretive ‘lens’ to the spectacular landscape beyond, and as a curatorial space that highlights the sophistication of the coffee making process.
The design of the space prioritized a “coffee first” ethos, with all elements complementing, supporting, elevating, and connecting visitors to the coffee making experience. This approach is manifest in the material selection and use of mono chromatic blacks and greys that act as a direct representation of the coffee roasting process while simultaneously connecting to the natural tones of the surrounding mountain landscape.
To create a coffee experience rooted in human connection and interaction, the atmosphere of the space is defined by three theatrical design features: the coffee bar which acts as a stage, the coffee bar canopy, which functions as a proscenium; and a wood screen which acts as a conceptual ‘curtain’.
In plan, these three features create a seamless user experience as the coffee counter guides users into the space and readies an experience, mirroring the high function and quality of the coffee roasting process. The volumetric forms of the proscenium, created through folded metal plates, further define the spatial navigation of the cafe while offering animation and versatility that expresses the brand identity of Kicking Horse Coffee.
The wood screen wall acts as a transitional threshold, blurring the lines between interior and exterior, expectation and reality. This metaphor of real versus abstract is present in the material selection and form of the articulated wood screen. Locally sourced cross laminated cedar panels create an articulated array and embody the materiality of the surrounding forests, while the organic form of the screen undulates to create seating and product display spaces that directly abstracts the topography of the surrounding area.
Taken together, the interpretive detailing of the design features, and the curatorial nature of the space acts to showcase and exhibit the uniqueness of the Kicking Horse Coffee brand while creating an experience that integrates all the senses of aesthetic beauty: feel, aura, energy, and smell to create a defining and transformative coffee experience.
Client
Kicking Horse Coffee
Awards
2023 Canadian Interiors Best of Canada Award