The Josephyna’s Cafe has existed for two years and, during this period, some unplanned additions have been made. According to the demand, the team eventually added a new drink shelf, a LED strip light, a new exhibitor ... and so Josephyna’s grew and understood itself. The cool thing about the process was that we could accompany its develop. We moved from neighborhood almost simultaneously to the beginning of Josy (as we affectionately call it) and soon we became friends of the owner's couple: João and Arthur.
From the sum of our good relationship and the new demands in terms of service (plus some structural problems), the invitation to collaborate with the renovation of Josephyna’s arised. We accepted with great joy, after all it is a special project. Josephyna’s has the sidewalk culture, the bar only exists because of the relationship with the street and to do such a project is special for every architect. The bar/cafe area itself is very small (13,9 sqm), but the reach becomes two or three times larger when you open the doors. The cafe is set at a point of traditional urban activity in the Bom Fim neighborhood. At night the sidewalk is full, the people from the contiguous bars come together and urban life is guaranteed.
In terms of design, in order to improve the relation between the Cafe and the street, the old glazing frame was removed and an exhibitor was added, making the relationship more fluid between interior and exterior. Internally, the main idea was to give legibility to the whole. As the place is quite small, we deem it important to give continuity of elements, so the experience is more easily assimilated by the client/user. Soon, the existing metal shelves (in the same previous modulation, designed by the architect Leocádio Corrent) were extended and the bar desk was aligned with the cash register. A suspended shelf was proposed in metal frame and lath, which guaranteed more storage space and lighting over the work space - another demand of the team.
On the other side of the bar desk, modular tables (also in metal structure and lath) were proposed to guarantee the flexibility of use – it can be used internally and/or be laid out on the sidewalk.
The lighting sistem is the main highlight of the project. The briefing for the lighting project was specific, they wanted something ‘’super gay". Considering the causes the bar embraces, we thought that it could be great if we metaphorically extend the flag of pride LGBT+ in the ceiling. To do this, we used metal rails suspended with LED ribbons inside, projecting the light upwards. The system used was a DMX control board, where you can change the programming as needed. With this gesture, we also ensure that not only a single struggle was embraced, but also october pink, november blue, trans people visibility and others.