Belo Horizonte has a growing population of 5.7 million inhabitants and is the capital of Minas Gerais, a brazilian state known for its gastronomy, coffee and bars.
This cafe is located in one of the coolest areas of the city, known as Savassi, a traditional hotspot for trendy young people and intelectuals looking for fun. The area is also full of companies like Google and business men who stay in the many hotels in the region.
This Coffee House, named Edith Café, after the owner’s grandmother, is in the heart of this cosmopolitan area and offers a refuge in this central area of the city, where one can have a coffee while reading the newspaper, have a pleasant business lunch or meeting and chill out with colleagues at the end of the day. Edith Café can be accessed directly from the street and also through one of the largest and most respectable book stores in the city. This connection gives it extra charm.
The sitting area is flexible to individuals or large groups, which is entirely coeherent with the diversity of clients and uses in different hours of the day. In some nights, there are music presentations such as jazz groups, for example. A breakfast Buffet is served on Saturday mornings, when Savassi is at its best, making Edith Café the right stop for a quick bite.
The interior design had a tricky design brief: low budget, quick implementation, cozy environment but with a clean, business touch to it. The architects decided to cause impact with simple solutions: an escalated ceiling made of white MDF boards, pinewood panels over the bar and in one of the walls and functional materials like coffee color leather on the seats, coffee coloured wooden furniture and a blackboard over the seats for menus and specials. The bar is made of white tiles and and the kitchen area has a unconventional lighting design.
Each wooden panel in the ceiling has a light directed at it, increasing its visual qualities. The turquoise shelves in the windows are used to display recipe and coffee books, and is will be used to display Edith Café’s own products in the near future. The outdoor sitting area, which is put away every night, is made portable wooden tables and light chairs, as well as patio umbrellas and vases for plants.
The logo is formed by a traditional coffee house color alongside with a color turquoise which makes them stand out from the competition and gives it more visual possibilities. The drawings on foam created in coffee houses generated a pattern which was used in one of the walls and in some graphic pieces. The dot in the i of Edith is a coffee leaf, which aims to show what their true passion is. The brand design was also developed by Mutabile, an office run by young architects and graphic designers.
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