Amid all the controversy surrounding its financial woes and revolutionary retro-ization, Starbuck’s has just opened its first 3D-printed Resto of the Future. It’s in Brownsville Texas. But is its architec-ture good business? Or just eye-catching homage to adobe?
Pro’s or cons: Curved corners, cowboy-era ‘weathered wood’ portcullis, pillowy
adobe-like finish, desert grass landscaping: All designed to accentuate an
obvious ‘Rancho Starbucks’ homage-to-the-Southwst design concept.
Inspired design…
It’s a bold take on what a Texas restaurant should be. And it pays grand, don’t-fence-me-in homage to the Great Southwest. But is it practical? Or just an eye-catching gimmick to generate mainstrean and social ‘earned media’ coverage for the chain’s – and possibly, the world’s – first 3D-printed store?
Though not abobe (rather, a special ‘extruding’ concrete formula) the ‘finish’ screams Olde West. And it’s what you get by default with the 3D process. But does it cost more or less than conventional con-struction?
Practical considerations…
If it works like real adobe, the solid mass of the walls would help cut costs on building climate con-trol, keeping it cooler inside through the day and warmer inside at night. But ‘side’ photos of the structure during its ‘accretion’ show the walls are hollow. So the concept of thermal mass probably doesn’t come into the picture, here.
Will the interior ‘finish’ – also raw, adobe-like concrete – convey a southwest warmth or an ‘industri-al’ coldness to customers?
Cut to the chase: Will the brave new design concept appeal to customers or turn them off, regardless of its historical and cultural authenticty?
And will the effort and cost that went into perfecting the pioneering design justify itself, even if the same set of blueprints can us used to expand and upgrade the whole Starbuck’s chain throughout California and the Southwest to the planned new Resto of the Future concept??
My take
Another thought…
The design and construction concept is undeniably forward-looking. invoking the notional of a ‘brave new West’. Everybody’s talking about it this week. But what about next week? Or next month? Or next year? How long will it take for the new 3D look take to ‘get old?
My questions to you:
Are you personally comfortable with the new 3D-extruded Starbuck’s store concept?
Would you go into a new ‘adobe’ Starbuck’s if you come across one, just to ‘check it out?
Does the new arcitectural take fit io with the in-progress campaign to revamp Starbucks inside and out, to re-establish the original ‘community hangout’ feel of the franchise? Or clash – possibly dan-gerously – with it?
What’s your honest reaction to discovering, this very minute, that the design specs of the new South-werstern Starbuck’s don’t include a customer bathroom? Optimized as it is for take-out and drive-thru, the architects said it doesn’t need one…
Muse on that…
~ Maggie J.