Architect: in situ studio
Project Location: Raleigh, NC
Project Completion Date: 2016

Short Description: Jubala Coffee Hillsborough is a downtown location for Raleigh’s favorite suburban coffee shop. The space was crafted in an empty shell on the ground floor of a hotel on NCSU’s main drag. It is visible from the street and accommodates arrivals from the sidewalk and the hotel lobby. The primary shop feature is a barista area that is experienced in-the-round and offers two points of sale, one for “TAKE” and one for “STAY.” The kitchen is also visible. Limited SF and a strange array of columns in the space made for a very constrained design process.

Architect’s Statement: The existing developer shell was very small and disrupted by a handful of erratically located columns. In this space, our client required cold storage, a full kitchen, seating for 50-70 people, retail space, storage, and a full service barista area. Jubala’s mission is to teach people about the craft of coffee by erasing barriers between making and buying. We pursued several schemes with this in mind, arriving at a final scheme that would create an in-the-round barista experience. The program is layered from front to back – sidewalk, patio, point of sale, front bar, work area, rear bar with seating, table seating, food prep and pass, kitchen with hood, cleaning and storage. The result is a surprising variety of atmospheres in a small space.

Type of Construction: Materials are used to create differences between service and customer areas. A birch plywood retail and storage wall along the west side directs people in from the hotel lobby, folds over the barista area to create an arrival space from the street, and then folds back down as storage cabinets and open shelving to absorb existing columns and create a veil between ordering and eating. The datum of the ceiling height is traced around the space. Beneath this canopy, walnut plywood bars and benches engage customers. Working surfaces are protected with stainless steel tops, into which all coffee production equipment is carefully integrated. The kitchen is set in a large glass opening surrounded by a walnut proscenium, making it feel as if it is part of the overall composition. The floors are simple concrete to contrast the refinement of the cabinet and ceiling installations, and ceiling areas above the ceiling datum are painted a deep, warm gray. Lighting and controls were carefully coordinated to further distinguish between the ordering spaces and seating areas.

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