Image Credit : Florian Groehn
Project Overview
Reuben Hills is an edifice to coffee. Strolling down Albion Way, a rear lane that runs parallel to Albion Street in Surry Hills, it’s hard to pass the incredible aroma and buzz of coffee-related activity ebbing from an open roller door. On entering through the rear roller door you’ll find yourself immediately immersed in a space swarming with people drinking, smelling and learning about coffee.
Project Commissioner
Project Creator
Team
Alana Cooke
Matthew Herbert
Project Brief
Reuben Hills is tucked away in a pocket of Sydney’s Surry Hills. The space is split over two levels of a long, narrow terrace that spans the whole length of the block between a rear lane and a major street. The ground floor operates as a cafe and retail space. Stacked vertically above this is the coffee roast works area/‘factory’, the office and the cupping laboratory/’classroom’ for coffee tasting. The rear roller door access becomes the ‘front’ of the cafe providing an opportunity for the customers spill out into the lane. Reuben Hills' owner Russell Beard has spent years making, tasting and refining his specialty coffee knowledge. Traveling to Central America several times a year to buy his coffee beans directly from the source, Beard was keen to provide some insights about the product and processes to the consumer. Beard believes that specialty coffee should be accessible and that the consumer should understand its origins. Thus, the brief was to create a space that architecturally reflected his approach to coffee. A space that was accessible and honest, with transparency between the processes of the bean and the final product; where coffee could be roasted, tested and consumed.
Project Innovation / Need
Reuben Hills condenses multiple discrete programs; café/factory/ laboratory/classroom into one long, narrow double height space. The very nature of the site, the brief and the functional requirements create a tension that generates opportunity for new outcomes. From the street Reuben Hills is unassuming – what appears as a typical terrace reveals an interior of unexpected scale upon entry. There is an element of surprise, delight, and fascination created through this interior/exterior tension. Internally, traditional back-of-house and front-of-house activities are linked through two semi-circular voids sliced through the first floor. The voids set up sight-lines to connect the activities of the cafe at ground level with the production and activity happening above in the roast works area/'factory' and cupping laboratory. This linking and overlaying of program creates a new type of space. The material palette, constructed around the materiality of the existing building creates further opportunity for contrast and tension which is ultimately enticing. The palette of concrete, brick, copper and steel is offset throughout the design by the voids, the lighting installations and through careful planning. The design creates a warm and welcoming environment that is somewhat unexpected against a backdrop of raw materials.
Design Challenge
The nature of the program (café/factory/laboratory/classroom) forced the design to challenge the perception of the traditionally narrow, dark terrace typology. To manage the program and the client’s brief; the design re-defined the existing terrace typology through the removal of large sections of floor, ceiling, and wall that create series of voids that perforate the space. The process of subtraction allowed the scheme to express and be honest to the existing verticality and materiality of the building. The purpose of this subtraction was two-fold – the voids act to provide light and openness to the ground floor café but also to create a sense of honesty and transparency between the respective café and factory activities above.
Sustainability.
The sustainability of the project is invested in the design strategy - the controlled process of extraction and the re-use and re-fit of an existing shell. Interior Services were considered where ventilation could be individually controlled. Operable roof lights were installed to release hot air from the coffee roasting machinery while cross ventilation between the Albion Street Entry and the Roller Door help to cool the ground floor. No air-conditioning was installed. Materials and hardware that were initially extracted from the project were salvaged and in many instances re-used. Existing sinks, door handles and timber were re-used throughout while structural components such as steel beams were turned into furniture.
Interior Design - Corporate or Hospitality
This award recognises building interiors, with consideration given to space creation and planning, furnishings, finishes and aesthetic presentation. Consideration given to space allocation, traffic flow, building services, lighting, fixtures, flooring, colours, furnishings and surface finishes.
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