Immersed Modernity with Vintage Charm
Project
Jurnal Risa Coffee Jakarta
Client
Jurnal Risa Indonesia
Location
Atrium Senen, Jakarta
Design
Studio Wangun
Size
650 m2
Year
2023
Risa Saraswati, an artist who channels her psychic experiences into music and literature builds Jurnal Risa coffee as a space for the public to indulge in food, beverages, and events. Jurnal Risa Jakarta is located next to the Plaza Atrium Mall in the bustling district of Senen, Central Jakarta. It utilizes the existing heritage-styled building that was renovated into a picturesque corner, with a twist of domed glass house attached as its outdoor seating area. Entering the coffee shop, visitors can access a swirling wooden staircase with vintage decoration in its background and surroundings that connects to the VIP area. The exterior is complemented with a mix and match of printed and customized material throughout the coffee shop, making a contemporary and welcoming experience. We renovated the pre-existing building into a unique experience of varying tone based on each section’s utility while preserving the classical atmosphere as the space’s concept. The unconventional shape of media combined with the range of fine points that is put into the concept exercised our keen eye for details, calculation, and adapting skills to translate and materialize shop drawing into the execution.
We renovated an existing building that was previously used for a car park and added an extension for outdoor seating using an iron frame as well as kitchen area. In total, there are four areas of first floor indoor seating, second floor VIP seating, outdoor seating, and kitchen. We enter the coffee shop with a sight of a pre-existing swirling wooden staircase that travels up into the VIP seating area. Behind the staircase is a collection of vintage photos, resembling the classic and ghostly concept. The first floor indoor seating area has a merchandise section and the coffee bar itself. The coffee bar resembles the shape of a typewriter, with their menu on top of the bar displayed as if it is a paper written by the machine. On certain spots of the ceiling there are hidden messages displayed in the form of morse code shapes, using cut acrylic that is precisely placed with the right consistency to form mystery sentences. Some of the floor also hides braille patterns, built using custom material. The outdoor seating area was built with a combination of metal frame and glasses and we coated the frame minimally while preserving the corroded rusty look of it. In the center of it, a glowing fountain flows merrily. This complements one of the purposes of this section as an event space, in line with the brand owner’s musical background. As one of the signature decorative points, on some corners of the coffee shop are placed worn out mirrors. We processed a regular mirror with chemical mixtures to bring out the layers of mirror that fit the looks. The abundance of miniscule details and decoratives brings out a mystical and gothic experience for the visitor.
With such a range of material variety our precision was put to test, as several attempts to make sure the customized materials such as the floors were made to make sure that it is arranged neatly. Furthermore, sequence of installation became a tough lesson for us as minor accessories in peculiar spots such as the morse code in the end had to be adjusted with placement of hanging lamps. This was all built on top of adaptations that had to be made with the changes from shop drawing. Keeping up with budget planning was also an expertise we practiced, such as adjustment of regular glass compared to stained glass for the decoratives as well as utilization of the more affordable polycarbonate for outdoor seating area dome. Jurnal Risa Coffee Jakarta is a library of spatial experience meeting a contemporary spot for indulgence.