Dairies Coffeehouse & Cold Brew Bar
At the Dairies Coffeehouse & Cold Brew Bar, Thrive Farmers prepares some of the best food and drinks in Atlanta - yet they consider the most important thing they make to be impact.
In collaboration with New York based interior design firm Brand Bureau, this restaurant explores the ways thoughtfully designed space can positively impact a dining experience and proudly displays how a thoughtfully designed business can create positive impact around the world.
We are in the business of impact. It is the most important thing we strive to make. From the start of a customer’s morning to the end of a farmer’s day, this is how we are measured.
Our farmers aren’t suppliers - they’re people. And what they cultivate isn’t a commodity - it’s a livelihood. It’s not just a supply chain, it’s a chain of values that guides everything we do. Integrity leads to transparency. Transparency to prosperity. And prosperity to quality. It’s a purposefully crafted product and process where all of us - from farmer to customer - thrive.
Manifesto
Thrive Farmers International
How a restaurateur defines success isn’t only measured by the quality of food and beverages that they serve. When people choose to support a business, they seek an experience and the cuisine is just one part. Thrive builds equitable relationships with all the people involved in their business, from their farmers to their patrons. Telling this story while elevating the customer experience, in ways both seen and unseen, were the focus of Cognitive Design’s collaboration with interior designer Brand Bureau.
Photo by Sean Harris courtesy of Thrive Farmers International
Photo by Sean Harris courtesy of Thrive Farmers International
Photo by Sean Harris courtesy of Thrive Farmers International
Photo by Sean Harris courtesy of Thrive Farmers International
Photo by Sean Harris courtesy of Thrive Farmers International
By allowing for a large variety of activities, restaurants have developed over time as centers of social interaction. Today this continues with amenities we often take for granted, like power and internet connectivity, that expands upon the more traditional ways people use restaurants and blurs the line between this third place and other spaces of significance, like workplace.
Complementing the use of this restaurant as an occasional work space for some people, a high level of acoustic intelligibility makes the place conducive to face-to-face conversations.
Photo by Sean Harris courtesy of Thrive Farmers International
Photo by Sean Harris courtesy of Thrive Farmers International
Acoustic Environment
It’s difficult to convey through photos and text the acoustic experience of a place, but it’s one of the most important contributions that was made to this place. To facilitate social connections (and help prevent human error when ordering and in communications between staff), intelligibility of speech was a top priority of the design of the acoustic environment. Excessive noise can limit socializing and if a restaurant is too noisy; some people may not return or may use earphones in order to cope, both of which limit socialization.
And this may come as a surprise, but loud noise can negatively influence the experience of a restaurant by adversely affecting the taste, aroma, flavor, and texture of food and drink. With dining as a primary function of the space, we took precautions working with acoustical engineering firm Conway & Owen to reduce reverberation times to levels that help preclude excessive noise buildup in the space from the many sounds generated within.
Photo by Sean Harris courtesy of Thrive Farmers International
Photo by Sean Harris courtesy of Thrive Farmers International
Photo by Sean Harris courtesy of Thrive Farmers International
Photo by Sean Harris courtesy of Thrive Farmers International
Photo by Sean Harris courtesy of Thrive Farmers International
From Concept to Concrete
As Architect of Record, Cognitive Design was on site to coordinate between the design, engineering, and construction teams to help translate this restaurant’s design to reality. Below are a few photos of craftsmanship in action.
Credits
Client: Thrive Farmers International
Interior Design: Brand Bureau
Architect of Record: Cognitive Design
MEPFP Engineering: Covalent Consulting
Acoustical Engineering: Conway & Owen
Structural Engineering: Ellinwood + Machado
General Contractor: Stonepoint
References
Musinguzi, D. (2010). The Impact of Restaurant Noise on Customers' Dinning Experience in Kowloon, Hong Kong. International Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Systems, 3(1).
Spence, C. (2014). Noise and its impact on the perception of food and drink. Flavour, 3(1), 9.
Lebo, C. P., Smith, M. F., Mosher, E. R., Jelonek, S. J., Schwind, D. R., Decker, K. E., ... & Kurz, P. L. (1994). Restaurant noise, hearing loss, and hearing aids. Western Journal of Medicine, 161(1), 45.