Egan s Coffee Bar & Roof Terrace
The nature of the work was to establish the relationship between differing programmatic requirements; a juice & coffee shop at ground floor level, a roof terrace & bar an existing nightclub on the rear upper level. These works were considered as a new insertion grafted to an existing protected structure (formerly a barber s shop) with a preserved shop front to Main Street.
The strategy employed in the installation was the creation of a floating monolithic roof structure cast in concrete with a series of vertical and horizontal cast concrete walls set at various levels below. The concrete elements served as both structure and surface. The immediate impression of the rear is of a series of intersecting planes in section. The roof structure is designed to "float" above the external roof terrace. The canopy surface is pierced by two large slits, allowing light conditions to penetrate through to the encased external terrace.
The interior of the roof terrace area comprises a cocktail bar for adjoining nightclub. The roof structure mediates between inside/outside; its profile is read as a folding monolith traversing the internal bar to form the canopy externally. The ceiling is "cut" into a series of folding ribbons of light.
The coffee shop & juice bar is located at ground level. The language of the external terrace translates into the interior of the coffee bar, with a focus on casting elements of furniture. The mirror serves to "echo" the previous use of the space a barber s shop while doubling the space visually.
Air conditioning/ventilation system This system takes fresh air from external area and circulates it into the chill out area and existing nightclub. The patio heat system utilizes hot air at high level in the existing nightclub / chill out area reheating and discharging it across the patio, thus achieving cost savings and energy efficiency and also doubles as an air curtain at the patio doors.
Lighting In the external patio area external LED lighting is used to light up the underside of the canopy. The LEDs act as task lighting picking up key features of the areas and also emitting a low level light enhancing the atmosphere of the chill out area. The LEDs are energy efficient for the client and also due to the longevity reduce the need for maintenance.
Glazing Low e glazing was used as the rainscreen between the external patio and internal chill out area. The glazing allows most natural light to enter but absorbs a significant portion of short wave heat energy. In the summer, long wave heat energy radiating from objects is reflected back outside lowering cooling cost. In winter, long-wave heat energy is reflected back inside, lowering heating costs.
Canopy The concrete canopy, over the patio area acts as a protective layer to those who require fresh air during the night and also complies with the Governments Regulations in regards to external smoking areas. The canopy helps to break the harsh winds creating a buffer zone for those who are outside.