Hi!
This is my absolute favorite place in the world. It's a small coffee shop called CoffeeLine. It's hidden (no advertising or signs at all!) behind a YMCA, across from University of Hawaii at Manoa.
I've known the owner Dennis for almost 7 years, who is a really great person. His coffee is the best I've had, and I've spent countless hours there studying, discussing and simply sitting and enjoying the cool breeze and the plants.
It's so hidden and yet popular that I was able to have conversations with many professors and even the school president one morning!
http://www.greenmagazinehawaii.com/place_v2-3.html
http://blog.shareyourtable.com/2009/04/seinfelds-soup-nazi-in-manoa.html
His kitchen says it all....
Although it's not part of NYU-Poly, I think it has elements that made it extremely comfy and attractive to creative and wonderful people.
Thanks!
Chris
This place looks awesome. What elements in particular do you think could make your work better? There seems to be something to the scrappy, mismatch, but I wonder how to recreate that at a university so focused on technology and future-looking work. Where does the worn-in, okay to spill coffee on environment belong, on campus? Next to campus? Hidden? Public? Very interesting post.
ReplyDeleteIt does look awesome! I personally think that technology does not need to be only future looking. Technology can also be about mix and match, inspiring... I can see the willingness to look future-oriented but we could also have spaces which looks less future oriented...
DeleteThe whole campus does not need to be like this but if we could have one space like this...
Agreed with your question Billy: It is important to understand what would make us work better, want to come and work, think, socialize in this place rather than other places... It would then be possible to understand the underlying affordances or principles and may be recreate (some of) them with out necessarily the scrappy mismatch.
one last point: what about the industrial feel of the building, of some buildings in NY... and the possibility to play with this around the notion of technology and engineering.
al
Hi Billy, this post by Alan about a hacker space in NY made me think of your comments and your question regarding a technology school and the kind of space you might "expect" there: http://nyupoly.blogspot.com/2012/02/hack-nyu-poly-hackerspace-for-poly.html
DeleteSchool sponsored campus coffee shop?
ReplyDeleteThat's an option! I'd love such a place.
ReplyDeleteSome people think that eclectic and cluttered is distracting. But I believe that it is more inspiring than anything else. Ordo ab chao - Out of chaos comes order- The Freemasons' motto.
ReplyDelete