Push Button Coffee House

October 24, 2007 in Architecture, Containers, Pre-Fabs, Recycled Materials by Winston Gieseke

We’re all familiar with coffee to go, but what about a “To Go” coffee house? The world’s first “instant café” is the brainchild of architect and artist Adam Kalkin, whose work involves the design and implementation of “Quik Houses” created from used shipping containers. The instant coffee house was born out of the concept of crate internet cafés (Where’s there’s a computer, there must be coffee, right?) and redesigned from Kalkin’s Push Button House, which previewed at Art Basel Miami Beach.

The Cargo Café can be delivered just about anywhere by truck. From there, it’s a mere push of a button and a 90 second wait for it to open (which it does like a blooming flower) before the fully furnished café it’s ready for business – lights, tables, seats, even a kitchen are included.

Designed for Italian coffee chain illy, the café premiered at the 52nd International Art Exhibition in Venice and will next caffeinate New York’s holiday shoppers at Time Warner Center November 28 and December 29 of this year.

Adam Kalkin has earned quite a reputation for his designs – comfortable spaces in ususual contexts seems to be a theme. Kalkin’s Quick Houses have been extremely successful in the U.S. and U.K. So much so that there’s a six month waiting list to get your hands on one. Quoted on IndustryWatch, Kalkin said simply, “I can’t crank this stuff out fast enough.”

Luckily for us, the houses Kalkin cranks out are made entirely from recycled materials.

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