The previous entry profiled the Architect magazine story, The Next Coffeehouse, and there’s one that truly stood out to me as something that a creative would say, “You know, I’d actually really want to work there.”

Designed by STUDIOS Architecture, their Modular Community Kitchen concept is the spatial inverse of the piazza, with a 60’ communal table serving as the ‘town square’. Greg Keffer, principal, provided some insight in this CoolTown interview:

Do you think the market is ready for the modular community kitchen now?
“Yes, I think people are ready for this and should have no problem adapting just as they have in workplaces. Our concept is based on ideas we originated over the years in workplace design. By looking at shared table type environments vs. typical cubicles you can immediately understand the effect on communication, spontaneity, and curiosity and how that can translate to idea generation, efficiency, and community in work. If STUDIOS has been successful in transforming how people can interact at work, why can’t we apply those same ideas to how people interact in social places such as a cafe?”

What are the modular components of the space?
“There are the functional pieces such as cases for cold beverages and food, then there are more versatile pieces such as peninsula tables that build off the main 60’ long common table.  These create nodes for gathering, or can be a place where someone might find more privacy rather than sitting on the common area.  The concept also allows for the pieces to branch off from the main table and create areas in the space for special settings such as a poetry reading, or community gathering. The table is simply a framework which elements (and people) work organically off of.”

What is the signature element of such a space that identifies it as a coworking cafe?
“This has to be the 60’ long common table.”

Would you work there?
“Of course I would - I embrace the ideas of community and sharing of ideas - this is an exciting point of view to how [the modern coffeehouse] could become truly localized.”

What will the next generation third place look like? Architect Magazine asked five architectural firms to provide their unique answers which are presented in the article, The Next Starbucks. Clockwise from top left, there’s a definite coffee bar theme:

BARbucks by designLAB, Boston - Coffee served bartender style like at a bar for people that want a more social solo experience. This is how coffee is served in Italian espresso bars. designLAB also presents AUTObucks, the equivalent of the self check-out at the supermarket.

Drink/Think THIN, by Studio Works, Los Angeles and Beijing - This is definitely something you’d expect from L.A., with the idea of thin stretched out coffee bar occupying the edge of a building and the edge of a sidewalk, providing a duality of being in the street yet in the building.

Modular Community Kitchen, by Studios Architecture, New York - The coffeehouse as workplace, focused on the 60’ long communal table. More on this in the next entry.

Push-and-Pull Bar, by William E. Massie/Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, MI - Almost a perpendicular alternative to the THIN concept, a coffee bar protrudes out towards the sidewalk, providing a sort of take-out/outdoor service. The bar continues into the building for an indoor experience.

*$, by Pentagram Architects, New York - So named to reflect a brand associated with simple, fast, efficient, universal, the focus is on coffee and only coffee via two modes - fast on the bar, or slow at the tables.

Thanks to Braulio Agnese of Architect magazine for the reference and use of images.

Zero-energy, community-building, mobile coffeehouse

First we profiled the conference bike, then the pub bike, followed by the delivery bike, so a natural progression would be a barista bike... the Bikecaffe.

Founded by a couple of coffee connoiseurs, Steve and Mike, they took it upon themselves to provide what they felt was missing in the marketplace - a mobile, outdoors-oriented third place.

"We saw a gap in the market for alfresco (outdoor) coffee to cater to the backlash against global coffee chains. People don't like queing inside a shop for an overpriced undermade coffee.

It was also the only solution to get into pedestrian areas where people mill about. It already generates a sense of community - we are installing bikecaffes into student campuses for this very reason."

Not only that, but of course the bike-powered coffee shop is practically carbon-free, not to mention its offerings are free-trade and provided in cups made of recycled materials.

A third place for bicyclists

You may have heard about the cafe for bike commuters, but what about a hangout for casual riders? That's what two native local entrepreneurs had in mind when they opened the Little Red Bike Cafe in Portland, OR last year.

What makes it a bicyclist's third place?

- The bike-thru - Little Red Bike Cafe's version of the drive-thru (pictured behind the kids). Plus a 50 cent discount on your coffee if you bike.
- Lots of bike parking.
- A very well written and illustrated blog all about the kinds of food, events and culture bikers enjoy.
- Sandwiches called "Paperboy Special," "The Messenger" and the "Tandem Sandwich", with coffee delivered by Courier Coffee Roasters, "a Portland entrepreneur who brews a highly regarded roast and delivers his goods via his bicycle."
- On-site bicycle pumps.
- Bicycle repair kits for sale.
- Affordable prices.
- Bicyclists tend to be conscientious of the environment, thus the emphasis on local and organic produce whenever possible; homone, antibiotic and nitrate free meats; and cafe-free vegetarian fed eggs.
- Bike art everywhere!

Thanks to Luke Graven for the reference.

Third place coffeehouses as economic development

I first profiled Tryst back in 2003 as a popular coffeehouse third place in Adams Morgan, Washington DC. But five years later, ten years after it first opened, it's not only become a neighborhood institution, but it really should be seen as a contemporary model for job creation.

Here's the big picture:

1. A majority of big businesses come from small businesses, and small businesses are started by entrepreneurs... from their homes.
2. Many (not all) entrepreneurs who tried working exclusively from home will tell you one thing - it sucks. No human interaction, no place for meetings, no escape from spending most of your life stuck at home.
3. Coworking sites are ideal, but are often too pricey for the budding entrepreneur.
4. Thus, enter coffeehouses with free wifi and staff trained not to bug you too often if you've decided to park there for most of the workday. The good news is they're packed with entrepreneurs all day. The bad news is that they're not very profitable until they leave.

In the meantime cities are investing tons of capital in contrived business incubators that often fail. Why not redirect that capital into economic development tax breaks for coffeehouses that provide evidence of effectively acting as free workplaces for entrepreneurs?

On the one hand, Tryst makes no money before 6 pm. On the other hand one can't get a seat during the day. It seems to be an economic travesty not to have enough workplaces for the neighborhood entrepreneurs. Proactive cities will overcome this, but it obviously hasn't happened in Adams Morgan yet.

My favorite category on this website is Reader Experiences. What better way to profile inspiring places than to have readers relive such moments. Today's such person is Christian MacAuley, CEO of FabApps. Her experience:

"Philz Coffee in San Francisco makes your coffee one cup at a time. It feels special and tastes awesome. After waiting in line to be served, a staff member makes your coffee with you one-on-one, asking for your exact preferences so you're getting very individualized attention [then literally grinding the beans from scratch]. When the coffee's done, it's typically topped with a fresh mint leave or two (if you want it), and then your staff person asks you to try it right there to make sure you like it. It's a winner.

Particularly, I like how the service is personal and unique without feeling forced or exaggerated. The intimate service is authentic because their product - customized coffee - demands individual service. It may be a gimmick, but it totally works (because the coffee is top notch) and feels right."

Christian also happens to be a proactive member of a beta community that's crowdsourcing a green, vegetarian restaurant in downtown DC, aka Elements. She provided this profile as inspiration for the restaurant, "I definitely see some "elements" of Elements looking at this photo of the interior I took last year, such as the live music, the community, and all the green and sunshine."

Check out more reader experiences here - keep them coming!

'Third places' for bicycle commuters

We know third places are that familiar social gathering place away from home and work, and we're thankfully witnessing a renaissance of them in neighborhoods everywhere. So, it was inevitable that as more creatives turn to more natural means of transportation we would start to see third places for biking commuters, aka urban bike stations (thank you Springwise).

You're in luck if you live in the following cities with urban bike stations, all of which offer secure covered bike parking, on-site repair, rentals, lockers and showers:

Chicago: McDonald's Cycle Center, a 16,000 s.f. station located in Millennium Park since 2004, features a cafe (essential to a third place). Membership is $20/month.

Aukland, New Zealand: BikeCentral Membership is NZD $25/week. The benchmark for biking third places, with a fresh food cafe and free wi-fi.

Berkeley, San Francisco, Long Beach, Palo Alto and Santa Barbara, California, or Seattle: BikeStation While it scores high in ubiquity, it needs a venue for social interaction. Membership is $12/month.

'Pull your own pint' - a bar within a bar

Say you're at a bar with friends, and you want to sample a few beers, or you just want a half pint to cap off the evening, or you're in the mood for a hefeweizen right now. There's also something festive and congenial about refilling everyone's mugs from a pitcher on the table.

It was inevitable, and it has arrived - self-serve tables with their own draft taps (and metered displays), which you'll for the time being have to travel to Pilsen, Czechoslovakia's new Pilsner Unique Bar (pictured) or Dublin, Ireland's 300-year old Baggot Inn to enjoy. Sure, traditionalists will miss having a beer server, but you'll still have a server for food who will also be knowledgeable about the brews, and you'll get to sample them yourself rather than take their word for it.

There's nothing like an Irishman introducing you to a 'pull your own Guiness' experience, so here's the video so see for yourself.

Thanks to Springwise for the reference.

Third places, events and scenes oh my...

If you're looking to establish a beta community to crowdsource a natural cultural district (kudos to those of you who don't have to click on the words to know what's being talked about here), it starts with third places, events and scenes.

Third places. Most of you know what third places are - where you feel comfortable hanging out when you're not at home or at work. A community starts with a third place so people can meet face to face, whether it's a coffeehouse, a cafe/bookstore, or a pedestrian-only square.

Events. Third places can't always survive on great food or charm alone, they need events that bring people together on a regular, predictable basis to share common conversations, whether it's on a certain genre of music, a fundraiser for an environmental cause, to learn salsa, or simply to catch up with friends at happy hour. Events begin at third places, then branch out to other venues, and ultimately neighborhood-, even city-wide.

Scenes. This is when you know you have a thriving natural cultural district, because a thriving scene (music, green, arts, entrepreneurial, ethnic, etc.) means enough events have sparked at third places to manifest a tacit sense of community and reputation of being a cultural destination - like live music in Austin; environmental progressiveness in Burlington, VT; and international dining in Adams Morgan, DC.

Image: Green Parrot Bar, Key West, FL

Germany's #1 third place

If you're visiting Munich and drink beer, you probably already know about the Hofbrauhaus (brew court house) downtown.

Wilhelm V., Duke of Bavaria, was dissatisfied with the beer brewed in Munich, so in 1589 he established his own brewery, the Hofbrauhaus (brew court house) to serve only his royal court (talk about an elitist brewery). It wasn't until 1828 that it became open to the public.

The main attraction of the Hofbrauhaus is multifold, and a great lesson for microbreweries. Of course there's the unprecedented history and you know the Duke of Bavaria wasn't going to hire anything less than the best brewmaster he could find, but what also continuously attracts people are:

- Ongoing events every night, often involving both live music and dancing. In other words, it's a party atmosphere.
- A restaurant that serves signature Bavarian dishes.
- An inn for people who don't want to stumble home too far.
- A ballroom for formal events.
- A beer garden for informal drinking (something the locals in Queens, NYC appreciate).

Today, the brewery is not only a model venue for a festive good time, it's perhaps become too popular, commercialized with tourism and franchised in other locations around the world.

It also happens to host the second largest beer garden tent at Germany's Oktoberfest which attracts 6 million people annually.

As one visitor put it, "I have never seen as much culture when it comes to drinking beer as here in Munich."

Image source: "http://www.flickr.com/photos/roonie/51833046/">Rich & Angie.