Ini Ani Coffee Shop

New York, NY
Completed 2004
350 sq. ft.

Design Distinction, Environments, ID Magazine 51st Annual Design Review
Interiors Award Winner, Casual Restaurant, Contract

The design for this project was generated in response to the low budget, $40,000; site limitations, 350 square feet; and tight time frame, 3 months for design and construction. Furthermore, this pragmatic design process thoroughly intersected a fabrication process in which LTL custom built the primary design features of the space. Originally a fortune-teller’s apartment and shop, the space was reconfigured by LTL as a room within a room, allowing both take-out traffic and a subdued lounge environment to coexist within the small footprint. Treating the disposable take-out coffee cup as a point of departure for material exploration, LTL constructed the interior box out of 25,000 strips of corrugated cardboard compressed in a structural steel cage, and cast a wall of 479 plaster coffee-cup lids as a sculptural feature at the entry.

Type

Hospitality

Credits

Client:  Kevin Mancini and Payam Yazdani
Project team:  Paul Lewis, Marc Tsurumaki, David J. Lewis; James Bennett, Lucas Cascardo, Alex Terzich
Contractor:  J. Z. Interior Renovations
Photographer:  Michael Moran

Publications

Holtzman, Anna. "Interior Design, No Appointment Necessary." The New York Times. April 15, 2004
Beamon, Kelly. "Material World." Hospitality Design. July, 2004