Coffee shop, environmental behavior, and design (How does social behavior and interaction influence coffee shop design?)

Qian, Manqian

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/49363 Copy

Description

Title

Coffee shop, environmental behavior, and design (How does social behavior and interaction influence coffee shop design?)

Author(s)

Qian, Manqian

Issue Date

2014-05-30T16:40:13Z

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Weightman, David I.

Department of Study

Art & Design

Discipline

Art and Design

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

M.F.A.

Degree Level

Thesis

Keyword(s)

• coffee shop
• third place
• flexible furniture
• transformative seating arrangement
• mobile working
• working space
• social behavior
• social climate

Abstract

Re-thinking the concept of coffee shop as “a third place between home and work (Oldenburg, 1989)” and its conventional seating layout, this thesis studied characteristics that encourage social behaviors and the meaning of coffee shops in modern U.S. society. The study was qualitative that included literature reviews, research techniques of observation documentations, behavior mappings, behavior sketches and interviews. 9 coffee shops were observed and 469 café patrons were analyzed for data conduction, 15 interviews were collected to reveal patron attitudes toward physical and social perspectives of coffee shop. The research findings showed various social behaviors besides conversation happened in coffee shops that affected to social climate. Mobile workers are becoming the predominating customers, which caused the third place concept in dispute. In response to paradigm shifts of environmental, social and technological culture of coffee shops, new needs merge for creating alternative seating solutions that emphasize flexibility and space versatility. The design outcome, CaFLEX, is versatile furniture that combines a table, a chair and an outlet. With easy operating mechanism it can be moved or merged to adapt various seating configurations. Two cafés with suggested transformative seating layouts are also designed by utilizing the CaFLEX, which includes a small espresso bar in downtown Chicago, and another big coffee shop located at Urbana.

Graduation Semester

2014-05

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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/49363

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2014 Manqian Qian

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