% arabica’s flagship in toronto reveals faceted walls inspired by glacial and rock formations

toronto’s % arabica union station by tacklebox architecture

Global coffee brand % Arabica has landed in the historic Union Station of Toronto, Canada, with a unique flagship store that welcomes visitors into a bright, minimal, and all-white interior punctuated by camel-colored accents, recalling the aromatic hot drink. Designed by New York-based studio Tacklebox Architecture under the leadership of Jeremy Barbour, the coffe shop design reveals a main counter area, a merchandise section, a central high table, rows of chairs on one side, and additional seating spaces placed along the shop’s front. Enveloping the design are sculptural wall surfaces inspired by the geological and glacial formation of the surrounding Canadian landscape. The facades, meanwhile, boast the brand’s % symbol as neon-lit signs. 

using faceted blocks to create floor-to-ceiling wall terrains

Drawing inspiration from the layered beauty of glacial ice, folded rock, and the strata of the underlying bedrock, the % Arabica Union Station flagship by Tacklebox Architecture (see more here) is defined by a floor-to-ceiling, faceted wall terrain. This monolithic surface is comprised of 172 faceted blocks that have been meticulously carved from 3,452 layers of stacked gypsum wallboard– a ubiquitous building material commonly sourced in the region but used here in a uniquely striking way. Jeremy Barbour and his team punctuated this crisp, white geometric surface at intervals with 24 powder-coated steel niches that house bulk coffee bags and merchandise on display. A continuous white Corian surface folds and carves space to form front and back service counters where visitors gather to receive % Arabica’s finest coffees sourced from around the globe.

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project info:

name: % Arabica Union Station flagship | @arabica.journal

location: Toronto, Canada

studio: Tacklebox Architecture | @tacklebox_ny

lead architect: Jeremy Barbour

photographer: Eric Petschek | @cb