In the mid-1980’s, Wayne Turett designed a popular newsstand on the Upper West Side of New York City, which subsequently won a City Art Commission award for its clean lines and intuitive functionality. Newsbar took this experience one step further, as Turett envisioned a high-end coffee bar and retail space. Newsbar was a hip, sleek urban experience for the pre-Starbucks era. A new interpretation of a drugstore counter/candy store, TTC’s design for Newsbar uses glass facade transparency and industrial materials to reinvent the urban community meeting space. The main counter is poured concrete atop a translucent fiberglass panel and the floor, like a city sidewalk, is also made of poured concrete. TTC-designed “satellite” tables along the storefront wall feature glossy publications sealed under glass. Throughout the space, raw materials are used as a counterpoint to enhance the products and the polished, industrial beauty of the coffee equipment, as well as the colorful allure of international magazines. Because of these factors, TTC was able to create an open ambience for Newsbar; encouraging customers to sit and read, finding community in the shared gourmet coffee and glossy publications. TTC created a total of five stores to meet the demand for the popular Newsbar concept.

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