Cristina Diaz

Horizons cafe is a place where faculty, staff, and students can eat, drink and relax. The environment is designed to be lively and comfortable at the same time. A challenge for this project was to create a design in a space that was not intended for use as a cafe. Included are areas to either work as a group, or relax individually. There is plenty of space to allow for flow during peak times of day. Clean and traditional, Horizons Cafe meets the needs of the varied clientele by keeping the look simple. Entering from the north side, you are greeted by a spacious, open floor plan. On the west side there is a long row of windows. These areas are taken advantage of by having a set of booths and an array of round tables. The cafe itself is located in the east portion. This area provides ample food preparation space for the employees. The lounge area includes several sofas, love-seats and armchairs for customers to relax. On the southernmost bay area is the meeting nook. This more formal area provides presentation space, while the booth allows for more privacy. My partner and I had an equal share of work in the construction of the Horizons Cafe model, both building furniture and laying down the basswood flooring. I also consistently worked in the space planning for the design.