Designing Places to Be Alone or Together: A Look at Independently Owned Minneapolis Coffeehouses

Abstract

Coffeehouses are third places, between home and work, where people meet, engage in conversation, establish ties, and form a community. Over the past 30 years, the number of coffeehouses in the United States has increased dramatically, thanks to the growth of the gourmet coffee market. But it is not clear what extra functions coffeehouses perform in the 21st century and specifically whether they still constitute a third place. This article explores this issue by examining whether face-to-face conversations occur within four coffeehouses in an upper income neighborhood of Minneapolis. The study found conversations were a minority activity in three of the four coffeehouses while they flourished in a coffeehouse that emphasized home amenities. These results indicate that designing coffeehouses with office amenities favors the creation of a work environment at the expense of face-to-face interaction.

Keywords

coffeehouse Minneapolis uptown place ballet face-to-face conversation

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