The Daily, Divine Lorraine Hotel
While small in scale, this coffee shop project marks a special moment in time and also in geography. It feels like a breath of fresh air at the street level of one of Philly’s most iconic historical landmarks, Divine Lorraine, welcoming a new generation and a new way of living and mingling. In geography, it is at a busy North Philly corner, with a street entrance right off of the Fairmount-Broad Septa subway stop. While the existing building is heavy, we chose to go light. The building already stands as a historical anchor; our goal is to give it modern relevance as a living, breathing, friendly community beacon.
To achieve this intent, we used only two materials: matte white perforated metal, and red oak. We used natural finish on the interactive parts of the oak (bench and barista counter) and gray stain on the wall elements (to blend with the historical stone and metal). The metal grows out the wood bench then floats and folds overhead like a dream. Mechanical, electrical and plumbing are all gently visible overhead. Track lights are tucked between the gaps of the metal bands. We also floated a wood cabinet as a counterpoint to the brick as the milk and trash counter, with a view of the city. The white metal recurs as the back panel of an oversized niche, which we whimsically (again) floated an custom-made all-white bike.
The calming and levitating sensation plays off of the branding and naming of the coffee shop: “The Daily” which our clients asked for our input on, as part of the collaborative design/business development process. Simply yet inspiring. Everyday yet magical. For furniture selection, we followed through with the minimalist matte white and wood palette. For signage, we used simple squares for both the brick wall (with standoff mounting) and for the large sliding oak door (inset mounting), which we also made. The coffee’s side entrance is from the traditionally marble-clad lobby of the Divine Lorraine.
A peek of the coffee shop through the lobby feels like standing in the past, looking into the future.
