Delighting Tea in Joy and Relaxed
Project
Kancha Tea Hub
Client
PT. Poci Kreasi Mandiri
Location
Neo Soho Mall, Jakarta Barat
Design
Studio Wangun
Size
52 m2
Year
2023
Being a part of Indonesia’s largest tea brand; Kancha Tea Hub is an artisan tea house that aims to provide flavorful tea blends in a comfortable space to meet and gather. We had the honor to work on their first branch in Neo Soho mall, a sophisticated complex of shop, experience, dine, and residence in the lively area of Western Jakarta. The shop itself has a rather straightforward layout and utility, focusing on the tea bar area for beverage production and providing a comfortable and accommodative seating area for a lively and bright communal space. Technicalities and regulations compliance are a big part for our learning in this process as it is a facility that is located in a mall. Consciousness for other tenants surrounding our working area, left to right and top to bottom is an important aspect to maintain. To top it all off, visitors' comfort is a priority that most of the building process can only be done during mall’s closed hours when no visitors are present. A lot of the materials had to go through a waterproofing process to prevent leakage to the floors below from the hub’s activities. Agility in responding to measurement changes, a quick adjustment without sacrificing the time taken in a limited space is a top priority for us in this project.
One of the most extensive steps of the build process is waterproofing the working area. We wanted to make sure that the beverage production process does not create leakage to the other rooms of the mall. This involves creating a basin and drainage system in the production area. This process is then finalized by doing a membrane process in the flooring area to make sure that liquid does not seep through. Furthermore, storing material requires day to day planning as there is no available room to place the raw material on site. Communication with the mall’s management also needs to be bridged extensively as submission of exclusive reporting documents is required for every completed process; testing for facilities such as electrical and plumbing, moving from one step to the next, and other processes. We used a washed look for the wall painting of the hub. Achieving the washed looks requires execution beyond technicalities, it involves taste and feeling as we seek an uneven and natural aesthetics in the coloring. We prefer to handle this ourselves instead of letting third party manpower to achieve the desired look. Finally, keeping the timeline at the top of mind to complete this project we had to manage the painting of several materials that is done separately off site. Naturally this involves shipment of the material that resulted in damages on the way. Detailed double check and repairing process had to be done.
We highly practiced awareness in this project, as dimensions of the construction process involve numerous activities that may produce discomfort. Sound, dust, smell, vibrations, and cleanliness of the leisure facility that is the mall itself can be compromised through our activity. Preciseness in procurement, timing management, and people skills are highly exercised by our team. In the end, we finished the project within the timeline to deliver a bright and lively space to enjoy the artisan tea of Kancha. Completion within the set timeline became a big achievement for us. Perfection in team coordination, manpower planning, and keeping composure within a cramped working space had really stretched our expertise as construction professionals.