Kanlungan & Brew
Kanlungan & Brew is a proposed study cafe located on Nuffield Street, Newmarket, designed as a warm refuge for students, creatives, commuters, and community members seeking focus, comfort, and connection. Rooted in the Filipino concept of kanlungan, meaning refuge or shelter, and shaped by the Maori principle of Manaakitanga, the project explores how spatial design can express care, hospitality, and belonging.
The cafe grew from my own experiences of searching for a place to study, belong, and feel supported. Designing this space became a way to translate kanlungan into an environment guided by Manaakitanga, where comfort, respect, and generosity shape every decision. Set within an industrial shell near the Newmarket Train Station, the design embraces exposed concrete, revealed ceilings, soft thresholds, and curved forms. Recycled glass blocks and warm lighting reinterpret the site's raw structure into a welcoming and uplifting interior.
Materiality is central to the project's identity. In Aotearoa New Zealand, around 75 percent of coffee grounds end up in landfills, despite the country importing more than 74,000 tonnes of coffee in 2018. This abundance of spent grounds presents both an environmental challenge and a circular design opportunity. By transforming coffee-ground waste into composite tiles, textured surfaces, and crafted cafe objects, Kanlungan & Brew reimagines an everyday by-product as a material of warmth, sustainability, and cultural narrative. Paired with recycled rattan mesh, warm timbers, plaster casting, and repurposed acrylic pieces, the palette delivers both sensory comfort and environmental responsibility.
A key design feature is the study zoning system inspired by Filipino expressions of energy: sobrang tahimik, tahimik, medyo madaldal, and madaldal. These zones offer users the choice to study quietly, collaborate socially, or work in a lively environment. This gradient of atmospheres embodies Manaakitanga by supporting diverse needs, promoting wellbeing, and ensuring everyone feels safe, welcomed, and seen.
As what I learned from "Poipoia te kakano kia puawai: nurture the seed and it will bloom", Kanlungan & Brew is more than just a commercial space. It is a living space where people feel seen, supported, and encouraged to grow.
Kanlungan & Brew is ultimately a space of refuge, an urban breathing room where culture, craft, and community meet. It shows how thoughtful spatial decisions can transform a commercial interior into a sanctuary for study, connection, and everyday life, offering people a place where they can feel supported, grounded, and at home within the city.
