Page 55 - #59 English

Part 1

Cafés Design Throughout Time

Today we have a long criteria list that we use when mostly for socializing purposes. Espresso bars emerged in
choosing a coffee shop to go: their location, design and early 1930 and brought new design elements such as stain-
style, culture and service, drinks and special offers - all this less steel surfaces, marble countertops and a lot of glass
might differ from café to café. But of course this was not and mirrors. Little by little these bars were adopted by the
always like that. Coffee was first roasted and brewed in the New World, starting with New York City.
Arabian Peninsula during the 15th century. In the 16th Following the World War II, with drastic social
century, coffeehouses developed in the Ottoman Empire changes coffee culture also had to change, especially ap-
and Middle East and became known as venues for storytell- pearance of coffee lounges. Little by little coffee lounges
ing and political discourse, where only men were allowed. and cafés started having common design elements: lounge
In Europe, first café appeared in 1629 in Venice and then chairs, bars, comfortable furniture and large glass windows.
this novel establishment spread rapidly throughout Europe. Cafés in New York’s Greenwich Village and Seattle stood
Thanks to their reputation as places of intellectual debate, at the forefront of the coffeehouse counterculture move-
cafés always attracted philosophers and writers like Voltaire, ment attracting emerging Beat writers and folk musicians,
Rosseau, Kafka, Hemingway, Hans Christian Andersen and who were tied to their political values. By that time design
many more; these intellectual meetings laid the foundation was following the need, while unique and
for the sociocultural function of coffee shops today. exciting design started right with the
While cafés in modern times can surprise you with kick off of the specialty coffee in
their style and décor, back then -before first espresso bars 1970 and Howard Schultz buying
started appearing in Europe- cafés did not pay that much Starbucks from its original creators
of attention to the design, places were designed and put in 1987 and creating a specialty
together according to local fashion- we all can imagine coffee empire.
somehow typical Parisian café- as customers were there

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