Intentional Spaces vs. Intentional People
It might sound strange for me to say I love studying at Central Market or Whole Foods. Instead, it is probably more normal to share the latest coffee shop I went to instead. However, I particularly enjoy studying in these grocery stores as I can not only study in an oftentimes less crowded and quieter space but also conveniently shop for groceries too. As a result, I headed to Central Market Cafe to observe more closely as to how these areas are designed, who uses these areas, and how these areas were being used. More specifically, I wanted to explore these three questions:
- What were the business intentions behind how these cafe spaces are designed and meant to be used?
- How are people actually using these spaces and what does the behavior observed say about people’s values and intentions?
- Is the space being used as it was intended? How do these intentions from these two different sides match up within these spaces?
What were the business intentions?
In addition to a cold aisle filled with microwavable meals and cold pastries, the cafe included a small restaurant and a bakery selling ice cream, pastries, and coffee. The indoor seating area next to the restaurant is filled with 2-person, 4-person, and 6-person tables separated by around six feet of space. This area also included soda machines, microwaves, utensils, toasters for customers to use. Customers could find seats using three different pathways, or enter the outdoor patio area through an automatic sliding door. The outdoor patio was filled with a number of larger tables neatly organized next to a playground.
I recognized three themes in business intentions behind the cafe’s design:
Multifunctional for multitasking. The grocery store seamlessly transitioned to the restaurants and indoor cafe seating and then to the outdoor patio and playground. Similarly, this design allows customers the ease and convenience to transition between tasks. For example, a grocery shopper can stop by the cafe to grab a drink, or a family member can shop for groceries while keeping the kids entertained at the playground.
Supportive of all. The space allows a wide range of activities and preferences, from the various table sizes for any group of people to the indoor and outdoor seating to the wide selection of hot and cold foods. The different sections also functionally support one another. For example, the microwave in the indoor seating area can heat up a meal from the cold aisle.
Covid Conscious. From the social distancing stickers on the floor to the notes stuck on the table, the restaurant was constantly reminding customers to socially distance inside and outside. In addition, the neatly organized and spaced apart tables indicate an intention to allow for a large number of customers while still maintaining safety.
How are people actually using these spaces?
Throughout my observational research, I noticed interesting points about the people, activities, and seating in the cafe.
People. I initially assumed that most people in the cafe were hungry grocery shoppers who stopped for food. However, I noticed three main types of people in the cafe. First, I was surprised to notice how many people, sitting alone or in small groups, only ordered drinks and brought laptops to do work at the cafe. Second, I noticed Central Market workers, either on break looking at their phones at tables or maintaining the cafe during their shift. Third, I noticed families with young children, especially in the outdoor area around the playground.
Activities. While many people like families and children used the cafe space for socializing and entertainment, many people also brought backpacks and laptops, indicating intentions to study or work in the cafe. In addition, I noticed shopping carts scattered around the area and filled grocery bags on tables, showing how people who grocery shop will also eat at the cafe.
Seating. Indoors, people sat in tables far apart from each other, probably as a safety precaution during Covid times. As the outdoor seating was crowded, people occupied almost all tables. However, although the tables were meant for 6–8 people per table, many were only occupied by one or two people. Sitting at the tables, people removed their masks; however, people wore masks if they are up and walking. This further shows how Covid has separated people within their own bubbles in order to stay safe. The mask is like a social cue that depicts that a person is comfortable with someone when the mask is off or is guarded when the mask is worn.
Is the space being used as it was intended?
Overall, the space sufficiently supports the breadth of people and behaviors observed in the cafe. People are sitting at tables to study, eat, and socialize. However, while spaces are designed with an intended purpose, people are able to adapt spaces to fit their needs and intentions. For example, although the business may have intended larger tables in the outdoor patio for 6–8 person parties, many were occupied by only one or two people. Spaces adapt to people, not people to spaces.
Recommendations
Although spaces are adaptable to support human intentions, people oftentimes only think about how to adapt the area for their own group’s needs, causing inefficient use of the space overall. For example, small groups of people would occupy large tables that could support many more people. In addition, although the large number of tables outdoors and indoors can support a large number of groups, what happens when parts of the seating become unusable when the weather is bad or raining? When space is plentiful, inefficiency is relatively unnoticed; however, when space is scarce, inefficiency is pivotal to customers’ cafe experiences. When one person takes up a six person table, this prevents five other people from getting spots, especially in a socially distanced world where sharing a table with a stranger is unsafe. As such, a recommendation to improve the efficiency of the cafe space could be to replace larger table sizes with multiple smaller tables. For example, replace one 6-person table with three 2-person tables. Therefore, tables can be moved to suit the number of people using it. One person can use only one table while allowing others to use the two other tables. However, this may be difficult as of now in regards to maintaining proper social distancing as people move tables.
Conclusion
Based on my observations, the Central Market Cafe is more than a cafe. The cold aisle foods, microwaves and toasters, and large playground not normally available in other cafes indicates how parties of various sizes and motivations are all welcome and supported to stay for an extended period of time.
