L’Artisan Café, a coffee shop in Wayland Square, decided to expand to a second location in Providence. A corner storefront was selected in a newly constructed mixed-use building on Point Street near the revitalized Davol Square. The raw tenant space had cast concrete floors, precast concrete plank ceilings, and a tall glass storefront facing south and west. Although the ceilings were high, much of their underside was covered with a tangle of plumbing and mechanical piping serving the six floors of apartments above.

In the spirit of the old-world artisan coffee offered at L’Artisan Café, a new, carefully crafted interior blends two primary materials in order to create a singular spatial experience. Flat engineered wood panels in a low luster varnish create a rich brown color that pairs with vertical ribs in a creamy off-white paint.

The ribs and panels hold the perimeter of the space as a series of layered verticals of varying densities. Depending on the viewing angle, the white or brown colors shift as the dominant tone creating a nuanced and dynamic atmosphere. The filigree of white ribs amidst the brown panels is meant to evoke the interplay of milk and espresso in latte art.

The top layer of panels and ribs creates a continuous ringed enclosure just below the existing concrete ceiling. This top layer emphasizes the height of the space with its deep and tightly spaced ribs. This portion of the concrete ceiling is free from most of the pre-existing piping and acts as a counterpoint to the polished concrete floor below.

The middle layer has more of a balance between the white ribs and brown panels due to the wider spacing between the ribs and their decreased depth. The ribs continue in front of the top portion of storefront glass as an open screen element that creates an interplay of shadows in the space.

The lower layer is primarily brown paneling as the white ribs have become a delicate inlay. A concealed door to the accessible restroom and the food displays are held within the consistently spaced ribs.

Just as the handle of a coffee mug is rounded for comfort forming a smooth radius to meet one’s hand, several corners of the design are softened. The ribbed screen curves at the café’s corner to accommodate a column and the coffee pickup counter is rounded at the edge to give more space for access to the modifier counter behind it.