Starbucks, Chicago
Starbucks Coffee Company's two-level store at the corner of Chicago's Oak and Rush Streets has a distinct Chicago feel, and reinforces the company's recycled, reclaimed and reused materials philosophy and coffee origins theme. The walls are lined with reclaimed local brick; salvaged wood from disused boxcars clads walls, ceilings and fixtures. A floor-to-ceiling diagram of the world’s coffee-growing regions, done by a local artist, is featured downstairs. A chalkboard rolling panel allows the baristas to chalk the day’s specials on the wall and roll it to the appropriate region.
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The store, which took the Grand Prize in the Specialty Food Category of the A.R.E. Design Awards, is comfortable and inviting. Casual seating downstairs caters to to-go customers, while a fireplace and more sophisticated furnishings encourage lingering upstairs. Balcony seating capitalizes on the prime corner location.
Design: Starbucks Coffee Company, Seattle
Architect: Mancini Duffy | TSC, New York City