EH9 | ANNFIELD RD
A little more about the design at EH9 Annfield …
The real charm of this project lies within the story of a commercial unit’s conversion from a shoe repair shop, which traded in Dundee for over 35 years transformed into a contemporary place of conversation, coffee and cake. This project was completed in a unique partnership with a local interior design student, Camillo Feuchter. This twelve-month live project and final submission at design school exemplifies the power of a design forward and collaborative approach when creating unique and memorable coffee experiences.
In the early stages of the project, we agreed a transformative collaboration with a local interior design student, Camillo, whom we have previously engaged with as part of his commitment to reusing our café waste to build beautiful and unique furniture pieces. Over time his bright and vibrant stools had become a central part our EH9’s visual identity. The timing of our expansion was serendipitous as it aligned well with Camillo’s final project timeline, which was to be submitted to Duncan of Jordanstone School of Art and Design in May this year. He approached us, keen to get involved in the design and making and we accepted the mutually beneficial partnership in a heartbeat.
The opening of our second café space was an opportunity to embrace and distil the elements of our brand that had helped us to build palpable local and national advocacy. However, it was clear that our new venue should have its own distinct identity. This would be central to our experience design. Camillo embarked on the design process through a series of interviews with customers and all the staff at the time. Truly understanding what customers really loved about EH9 and what the baristas needed for a practical and functioning workspace was vital for the designer to make proposals for the new space.
With over six hours of recorded interview material, workflow analysis and bar design sessions with the head barista and manager, there was a great amount of research backing the project. The research concluded three key aspects of EH9s brand success: community, vibrancy and inclusivity. Particular attention to detail around lighting, interactions and music were integral to EH9’s pursuit of a particular coffee experience which was grounded in the provision of exceptional coffee in an approachable environment.
It was clear from the offset that an ambitious design was required to optimise what little space was available to create a café of significant community impact. EH9’s objective of fostering an emerging speciality coffee scene meant that the space had to be flexible so that it could be used to host a range of events such as coffee tastings and discussion clubs. Throughout several iterations of layouts and 3D mock-ups the placement of the tables was challenging but led to the final decision to challenge what we thought we knew about existing café design and look for inspiration from other walks of life, too. The owner of the café reflected of his visits to his late grandmother house for cups of tea in his teenage years. To him, she was a beacon of hospitality and part of that experience was due to her trusty nest of tables, which utilised modular design to create a flexible and dynamic space for hosting her guests. The answer lay here. Three simple stackable tables allow the space to be adapted to its operational needs. These engaged a powerful element of experience design at EH9 as guests feel deeply cared for when their server places a ‘table’ in the exact location they need it, places a cold glass of water on the table and presents their beautiful coffee. This anecdote does well to illustrate the consciousness of almost every design element within EH9 | Annfield. Each aspect was subject to intense review, scrutiny and in many cases 1:1 prototyping.
The space at 94 Annfield Road offered a 35 sqm ground floor unit with plenty of light due to its large south and east facing windows. Before building the new café the unit was brought back to shell with only a centre post remaining. The new layout includes two flowing partition walls, which divide the room into service area, customer area and an accessible bathroom. The design decision to apportion a small section of the larger wall at half height within the shape, provides a unique eyeline from the street (through the large windows) directly to a bright and vibrant selection of retail products. The use of curves helped to soften, open and define space. One of the walls creates a cosy nook which houses a large bespoke bench, built and designed by Camillo to promote conversation. When entering the café the customers are always welcomed by the barista behind the inward facing Linea Classic, making it possible to hold a conversation at all times. Camillo designed and custom-built various objects in the café from the seating to the lighting, using techniques ranging from bending wood, remelting plastic milk bottles from EH9’s daily operations. The design detail went insofar as 3D printing modular lampshades that took inspiration from EH9’s bespoke ceramic mugs which was designed by a local potter, Wan Nee. Camillo engaged the public in the design through his open call and collection point for used bottle tops which he would later fashion into various sustainable objects including stool tops, menu holders, plant pots and a repurposed clock, which was recently selected to feature at Dundee Design Festival 2024 alongside 70 objects of contemporary Scottish design.
Since opening on May 18th 2024 we found that our hopes for the cafés use have been surpassed, as the community has embraced EH9 | Annfield with so much enthusiasm. It is café that was designed as a space for the local community to relax, socialise and engage with each other. We see this manifest every day, throughout café service and at our evening events which spill out onto the street. We hosted 15 events throughout September alone. Our objective was to create which was vibrant, design forward and inviting. It was important that EH9 as a brand remained a place for inclusion and diversity so that people remained at the centre of our business.
Project process video part of Camillos thesis submission.
Please follow this link to Camillo’s website for more process content camillo-atlas
