Siji Rehana achieved WADe Asia Award for her inimitable project Cuppa Café, which was selected under WADe Asia Hospitality Category. The site was amidst the verdurous terrain of Nilambur forest.
Cuppa café was born out of sheer determination to revitalise the old weary torn out commercial building to something useful for the travellers who are abundant in that part.
The concept was developed from the very terrain the building stands. The building was designed to merge in with greenery around and glow as the firefly or lantern, as it will be in the darkness. The façade is a captivating two storied structure with its imposing front façade of leaf patterns etched into the cement, which glow from within.
As one move towards the café from the main road, we will notice the play of warm lights onto café and it’s surroundings. The hanging lanterns from the tree, the lamp posts and the lights from the façade all adds to the drama. Café interiors are also designed in rustic finishes from the locally available materials like bricks, kadappa stones and the wooden rafters which were sourced from the scrap yards in the vicinity. By incorporating and practicing green architecture we have tried to make the project very economical viable for the client.
The existing plan was an elongated rectangle where in 40% was used for indoor seating and the remaining 60% was used for outdoor seating. Glass façade and open decks helps in capturing the beauty of the nature beyond and also brings in the transition of outdoors into interiors wisely.
About Siji Rehana
Siji Rehana is the Partner & Principal architect at DAC LLP, Bengaluru. Passionate about anything to do with art and nature, Rehana have been in the designing world for past 17 years, has been creating beautiful spaces while designing spaces that can bring out the best out of her clients.
Rehana have been working for Commercial, Hospitality and Residential projects and giving it her all, by indulging in every aspect of the project right from, the conceptual design development to the execution of the project. She was awarded the Best Residential Interior Architect in the year 2013 by Zingy Homes.