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Architects: Zwei Interiors Architecture
- Area: 700 m²
- Year: 2013
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Photographs:Michael Kai
Text description provided by the architects. Code Black is simultaneously a laboratory, a workshop and a hub for connoisseurs of the dark art and science of coffee. Its design delivers a stripped back, masculine, almost reverential ode to the coffee bean. Set in a large inner-city double fronted warehouse shell, Code Black accommodates a new roasting operation, the headquarters for the administration of the existing business, and a public coffee outlet.
The transparency of operations in Code Black means no area within the space has hierarchy over the other. Each space is clearly defined while sitting easily and honestly alongside the parallel zones – they lead into each other and create focus and a play on perspective.
Upon entering the coffee outlet, the eye is led past the servery into the depth of the building where the 20kg roaster dramatically resides. Situating the roaster in full display adds an element of theatre, but most importantly it signifies the quality and craftsmanship of the cafe’s product. After all, coffee is king at Code Black.
Using dark, warm tones to mute the volume, lighting and form create drama within the building's shell. Yellow highlights punctuate the ceiling of the kitchen and office areas and fabric seating is a Josef Frank coffee bean illustration imported from Sweden. Materials throughout reflect the Code Black branding as the hue of the black colour base, and a strong use of raw black steel uses a language of masculinity, rawness and simplicity.
