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Café Yucca

IDA14 by Karsten Schmidt

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Designer
IDA14 by Karsten Schmidt
Client
Zürcher Stadtmission
Floor area
125.00 ㎡
Completion
2017

Café Yucca had been for years a low-threshold meeting point and counseling center in Zurich. Its need for a renovation provided the opportunity to create a new design, but how should the new Café look? The often-held opinion that low-threshold centers should have a worn-out look didn’t correspond to the Zürcher Stadtmission’s CEO opinion. She wanted to use the spaces’ strength in order to create a place that reflects the organization’s work: the guests are welcome with dignity and respect and so should do the café design. She assigned us the interior design project and was our partner during the conceptual phase. We studied images of homeless people in their mostly urban environment, did researches about colors, materials and lightning and chatted with staff and guests. It was also interesting reading Elefant, M. Suter, which illustrates very precisely the Zurich’s homeless scene. To give this people a beautifully designed environment, a place where they can easily fit without being discriminatory: this was our challenge. The client expressed the wish to have a living room-like café. Due to functional reasons, upholstery furniture couldn’t be considered but furthermore, the classic lounge didn’t match the harmonious picture we had in mind. Caravan residences and gardens, this is where we identify images of relaxing meeting places: verandas with colorful lights and garden furniture, surrounded by the green nature. This is for us the right lounge design for the Yucca’s guests.