10 International Coffee Shops
Global cafes are buzzing with caffeine and conversation.
1. Firm: OFFICIAL Design
Project: Houndstooth Coffee
Site: Dallas, Texas
Standout: An island bar anchors the clean-lined cafe and allows for 360-degree engagement with customers, who can settle into white-oak communal tables, individual nooks, or a covered patio.
2. Firm: Commune
Project: Verve Third Street
Site: Los Angeles, California
Standout: Inspired by coastal culture, exposed plywood panels stained light-blue recall the ocean—and complement Prouvé and Aalto furnishings.
3. Firm: StudyoAB
Project: Melez Tea
Site: Istanbul, Turkey
Standout: The interior’s zen-like serenity nods to wabi-sabi, a look achieved by salvaged wood details and a stone table that appears broken in two.
4. Firm: Studio Vural
Project: Toby’s Estate Coffee
Site: Long Island City, New York
Standout: The site’s 40-foot-high ceilings allow wagon-wheel chandeliers to descend through exposed timber joists, illuminating a statuary marble counter and an S-curved wood banquette.
5. Firm: Mizzi Studio
Project: Colicci
Site: Stratford City, United Kingdom
Standout: A lustrous jigsaw of 542 copper fragments forms the kiosk’s sculptural canopy, beckoning visitors at the busy Westfield mall.
6. Firm: Blueberry Builders
Project: East One Coffee Roasters
Site: Brooklyn, New York
Standout: This Nordic-inspired Carroll Gardens hotspot incorporates warm accents of wood, concrete, and steel, with black countertops crafted from recycled paper.
7. Firm: Alberto Caiola Design & Consulting
Project: Fumi
Site: Shanghai, China
Standout: The designers visualized coffee’s aromatic vapors with a sculptural canopy that shelters a wall-mounted constellation of Moka coffee pots.
8. Firm: Bohlin Cywinski Jackson
Project: Blue Bottle Coffee
Site: San Francisco, California
Standout: A former Kohler warehouse, the brick masonry storefront entices visitors with a network of floating wooden boxes holding coffee and serveware.
9. Firm: GB Space
Project: PH Coffee
Site: Beijing, China
Standout: Nodding to ancient Italian architecture, a latticed metal ceiling evokes the Renaissance, while a series of archways demarcates various zones.
10. Firm: SODA Architects
Project: CUPONE
Site: Beijing, China
Standout: Taking cues from nature, the shop’s peacock blue walls offset a thousand leaves of white acrylic, designed to mimic a stream.
