Serving as the ground-floor lobby of Harrison Urby, a lifestyle-oriented rental complex, Coperaco's first U.S. cafe is dripping with lush foliage. Founder Johan Pesenti collaborated closely with Amsterdam-based architecture and interiors firm Concrete to create an idyllic sanctuary where patrons can savor the high-quality, carefully-roasted brew.

“We wanted to have an open space, lit by natural light, where you have the feeling of being in a greenhouse,” Pesenti explains. The coffee created by Coperaco—which can be found at some of the world’s best restaurants and hotels—is hand-roasted in small batches, and focused on the farming and harvesting of the fruit, so creating a connection to the earth was essential to the design of the cafe.

A vertical batten dripping with fronds encloses the heavy, under-lit marble coffee bar. Mosaic floor tiling grounds the space as barn framework fuses the indoor and outdoor elements. Airy, cascading lighting melds with hanging ivy throughout the space.

Adding further to the cafe’s outdoor theme is a two-story tree house built inside the space. Made of wood with a wall of braided rope, the structure adds cozy seating, a library, and a fireplace. Furnished with sleek midcentury-style furniture, it's a transformative space. One certainly does feel as if they are in the Garden State.

Project Credits:

-Architecture, Interior and Landscape design: concrete

-Executive Architect, Executive Landscape Architect: Minno and Wasko

-Structural Engineer: Mulhern + Kulp

-Client: Ironstate Development, Pegasus Group USA