The #GC2022 finalists are out! Read more.

search
×
menu
login
donate
Indian Coffee House
Thampanoor, India
Written by:
follow
share on:mail linkcopy link to clipboardShare via LinkedInShare via TwitterShare via FacebookShare via Facebook
Coffee-restaurant chain run by worker co-operative societies.

image: copyright unknown
i
Category:
meeting place
Phase:
in use
Updated:
3 December 2019
introduction

The Indian Coffee House is a restaurant chain in India, run by a series of worker co-operative societies. It has strong presence across India.[1] There are nearly 400 coffee houses all over India, which are a part of the chain.

The India Coffee House chain was started by the Coffee Board in early 1940s, during British rule. In the mid 1950s the Board closed down the Coffee Houses, due to a policy change. The thrown-out workers then took over the branches, under the leadership of the communist leader A. K. Gopalan and renamed the network as Indian Coffee House. The first Indian Coffee Workers Co-Operative Society was founded in Bangalore on 19 August 1957. The first Indian Coffee House was opened in New Delhi on 27 October 1957.[1] Gradually, the Indian Coffee House chain expanded across the country, with branches in Pondicherry, Thrissur, Lucknow, Nagpur, Jabalpur, Mumbai, Kolkata, Tellicherry and Pune by the end of 1958. Later Bellary and Madras (Chennai) Societies were separated from their mother societies.

read more >
< read less
cultural and social context

Indians own the largest worker cooperative in the world: Indian Coffee Houses. The Indian Coffee Houses in India were started by the Coffee Board in early 1940s, during British rule. In the mid 1950s the Board closed down the Coffee Houses, due to a policy change.

read more >
< read less
materials and building techniques

The Indian Coffee House designed by Laurie Baker is one of the most prominent landmarks in Trivandrum, Kerala. As one makes way into the building, one is intrigued by more than just the warm coffee and snacks served. Entering seemingly cylindrical structure, a continuous spiral ramp takes you through the two floors. This ramp, one realizes, is swirling around the central circular service core and has seating spaces at its outer end. Baker’s trademark jaalis add to the earthen aesthetics of this renowned brick structure. These jails serve the purpose of windows, bringing in light and helping ventilation. Creating a 360-degree vantage from the upper floor, the visitor would notice the bustling surroundings to be in stark contrast to the peaceful ambience within. Laurie Baker’s favorite typical materials are well known. The walls are exposed brickwork, painted white on the inner side and brick-red at the exterior.

Location
show earth plate boundarieshide earth plate boundaries
Explore more inspirations
Keyword:
community (139)
vernacular (38)
prev
  • play
     meeting place
    Matta Sur heritage and community center
    Santiago, Chile
  •  housing
    La Passerelle, France
    Seine Saint-Denis, France
  •  meeting place
    Naidi Community Hall
    Naidi Village, Fiji
  • play
     infrastructure
    Using Waste to Manage Waste
    Sangti, India
  •  emergency shelter
    Catenarius
    Paraguay
  •  education
    Community Learning Centre in Pasman Tol
    Pasman Tol, Nepal
  •  recreation & sport
    Community center in eco community in mountains
    Kosiv, Ukraine
  •  infrastructure
    Community toilets for SPARC
    mumbai, India
  •  health & sanitation
    Warka Village Cameroon
    Cameroon
  •  housing
    Project Suitcase - Manchenahalli
    Rayanakkalu village, Manchenahalli Gram Panchayat, India
  •  meeting place
    Liyuan Library
    Jiao jie he (交界河村), China
  •  education
    Khaanabadosh
    Ajmer, India
  • GC2021 finalist
     meeting place
    Community Kickstarter: Ger District Viewing Deck
    Mongolia
  •  meeting place
    Old Market Library
    Bangkok, Thailand
  •  education
    A school for Syrian refugee children in Lebanon, once was a pavilion in an International expo in Italy.
    Al-Marj, Bekaa, Lebanon
  •  education
    Adharshila School Extension Project
    Agara Village, Sheopur District, Madhya Pradesh, India
  •  infrastructure
    Community School in Darmang, Ghana
    Damang, Ghana
  •  housing
    A new Community House for Bai Giua
    Hanoi, Vietnam
  •  education
    Njoro Children's Library
    Mailisita, Kilimanjaro , Tanzania
  •  housing
    Yurt / Ger
    Mongolia
  • play
     education
    Hilltop School
    Hyderabad, India
  •  education
    P'Yan School Project
    Mae Sot, Thailand
  •  housing
    Community led housing design in Munting Nayon
    Muntinlupa City, Philippines
  •  meeting place
    Centro de Acçao Social por Música
    São Paulo, Brazil
  •  education
    Thnouh School
    Takeo, Cambodia
  •  meeting place
    Community Learning Center Corralones
    Sacaba, Bolivia
  •  education
    Impact Pavilion Ibadan: Connect, Learn, Thrive
    Alaka Community, Ojoo, Ibadan, Nigeria
  •  meeting place
    Multipurpose Room COVEMV
    Morelia, Mexico
  •  housing
    Torre de David
    Caracas, Venezuela
  •  housing
    Granby Four Streets
    Liverpool, United Kingdom
  •  meeting place
    “Sorbole” - Urban garden’s equipment
    Seville, Spain
  •  meeting place
    Old Vicarage Youth Centre
    Bradford, United Kingdom
  •  education
    Children's Centre XEWA SOWE
    Village of Sowé (Glazoué), Benin
  • play
     education
    Healing Spaces for Children of War Zones
    Damascus, Syria
  •  urban planning
    De Ceuvel
    Amsterdam, Netherlands
  •  health & sanitation
    Ruku Kucho Center for the Elderly
    Ecuador
  •  housing
    Casa Rosales
    Tlalnepantla Morelos, Mexico
  • play
    GC2022 finalist
     meeting place
    San Blas Social Action Center
    Caracas, Venezuela
  •  meeting place
    open architecture
    Tokyo, Japan
  •  education
    Transforming Learning Spaces in Rwanda
    Muhanga, Rwanda
  •  education
    Hwange Technical College
    Hwange, Zimbabwe
  •  housing
    Floating dwellings
    Dong Nai, Vietnam
  •  work & business
    Community Development Centre at Mystic Village
    Khajjiar, Himachal Pradesh, India
  • play
     meeting place
    Sunzu Village Community Center
    Burera, Rwanda
  •  religion & memorial
    Tógu nà
    Dogon, Mali
  •  education
    Muping Village School
    Guizhou, China
  •  meeting place
    Pol houses (residential cluster)
    Ahmedabad, India
  •  work & business
    Beehive Technology and Enterprise Park
    Chilomoni, Blantyre, Malawi
  •  education
    Siddhartha Primary School
    Bimire village, Nepal
  •  meeting place
    Generating Resilience
    Majuli, India
  • GC2021 finalist
     education
    Rebuilding the Haadibadi Community library
    Bengaluru City, India
  •  housing
    Edifício São Vito
    São Paulo, Brazil
  •  meeting place
    Tiuna El Fuerte
    Caracas, Venezuela
  •  emergency shelter
    Low-cost modular housing scheme
    Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
  •  housing
    JINTAI VILLAGE RECONSTRUCTION
    JINTAI, China
  •  emergency shelter
    Single Mothers Association of Kariokor (SMAK)
    Nairobi, Kenya
  •  housing
    boat houses
    Ine, Kyoto, Japan
  •  education
    Motherwell Community and Enviro Hub
    Gqeberha, South Africa
  •  housing
    Fujian Tulou
    Fujian, China
  •  education
    Silindokuhle Preschool
    Port Elizabeth, South Africa
  • GC2021 finalist
     education
    A School Built By the People, For The People
    Jorhat, India
  • play
     education
    Mallki Wasi - Education for the Amazon guardians
    Kosñipata, Peru
  •  meeting place
    Pondok Tagal
    Kampung Maligan, Malaysia
  •  recreation & sport
    sport clubhouse Kalobeyei, Kenya
    Kalobeyei, Kenya
  •  education
    Jubilant Tree School
    Moshi, Tanzania
  •  recreation & sport
    Olive Grove Open Air cinema
    Moria, Lesvos, Greece
  •  urban planning
    The High Line
    New York, U.S.A.
  •  housing
    Palafitos
    Castro, Chile
  •  recreation & sport
    M&M Marketplace Enhancement Project - Plaza
    Hillsboro, U.S.A.
  • play
     health & sanitation
    Kamuna agricultural rehabilitation centre
    Kamuna, Cankuzo, Burundi
  •  housing
    Batak Toba Houses
    Lake Toba, Indonesia
  •  meeting place
    El Tr3bol de Ciudad de Cali
    Bogotá, Colombia
  •  education
    JAHMAZING Bamboo Lab
    Marley Coffee Farm, Blue Mountains, Jamaica
  • GC2022 finalist
     housing
    KuNa, Construyendo Sueños
    El Astillero, Tola, Nicaragua
  •  health & sanitation
    Rwinkwavu Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
    Kayonza District, Rwanda
  •  education
    Collective School in Fansirà Corò
    Yelekebougou, Mali
  •  meeting place
    Chamanga Cultural Center
    Chamanga, Ecuador
  •  housing
    HATHIGAON - Housing for Mahouts and their Elephants
    Jaipur, India
  •  agriculture & fisheries
    Community Greenhouse
    Quito, Ecuador
  •  housing
    Ruca Dwellings
    Huechuraba, Chile
  •  housing
    Eden Bio
    Paris, France
  •  education
    FAVA School for Individuals with Autism
    Caracas, Venezuela
  •  meeting place
    El Faro de Mapasingue
    Guayaquil , Ecuador
  • play
     religion & memorial
    Iglesia de Coquí
    Coquí, Chocó, Colombia
  •  housing
    Rural Housing Development Program
    Chitrawad, Gujarat, India
  •  housing
    Kampung Kali Chode, Yogyakarta
    Yogyakarta, Indonesia
  •  meeting place
    El Pinto. equity through collective empowerment
    Querétaro, Mexico
  •  meeting place
    Kazi na Bobo - community shop built with plastic bottles
    Msitu wa Tembo, Tanzania
  •  health & sanitation
    Hammam Khist-i-Kopruk
    Kholm, Balkh province, Afghanistan
  •  housing
    Project Chacras; Pop up Productive Housing
    Arenillas, Ecuador
  • play
    GC2021 finalist
     education
    Taller Tropical Moravia 2.0
    Medellín, Colombia
  •  housing
    Tulou Collective Housing
    Nanhai, Guangdong, China
  • GC2022 finalist
     housing
    Mini-Cyclone Shelter for Vulnerable Communities.
    Bhola, Bangladesh
  •  education
    El jardin de Adele
    Encañada, Peru
  •  education
    PLAYSCAPE
    Koh Rong Island, Cambodia
  •  work & business
    Sembalun Bamboo Youth Development Centre
    Lombok, Indonesia
  • play
     meeting place
    StadtGoesFuture-Culthäusle
    Filderstadt-Plattenhardt, Germany
  • play
     work & business
    Transforming Puffed Rice Making MicroBusiness Unit
    Dharwad, India
  •  housing
    OA Bamboo House
    Various locations, Malaysia
  •  housing
    Dorchester Art + Housing Collaborative
    Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.
  •  urban planning
    A Corridor for People
    Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
  •  recreation & sport
    Kimisagara Community Centre
    Kimisagara, Rwanda
  •  education
    Initiative Rising Star - school buildings for Hopley, Zimbabwe
    Harare, Zimbabwe
  • play
     recreation & sport
    Plot ABC - phase 2
    Yangon, Myanmar (Burma)
  •  health & sanitation
    Butaro hospital
    Burera, Rwanda
  •  meeting place
    LOCAL COMUNITARIO A.F. 10 DE JULIO
    LIMA, Peru
  •  housing
    CODEC - Affordable Resilient Housing Program
    Chitalmari Upazila, Bangladesh
  •  meeting place
    Community Center
    Oudong, Cambodia
  •  education
    Playgrounds for Refugees as emergency response
    Bar Elias, Lebanon
  •  meeting place
    Farmers' Innovation Center (BLF)
    Angangba (Nagaland), India
  • play
    GC2022 finalist
     education
    KAKR BULUH AWAR
    Deli Serdang, Indonesia
  •  meeting place
    BE friendly space
    Mao Khe, Vietnam
  •  meeting place
    Iche_Food for thought: a hub for glocal innovation
    San Vicente, Ecuador
  •  urban planning
    The (Picard)Street as key space for Transition
    Brussels, Belgium
  • play
     education
    Community Center for Indigenous music/ environment
    Tuba, Philippines
  •  housing
    Mousgoum dwellings
    Pouss, Cameroon
  •  meeting place
    Tulou renovation
    Longyan City, Fujian, China
  • play
     meeting place
    Casa Comunal de la Isla de Portete / Ecuador.
    Portete, Ecuador
  •  health & sanitation
    The Rain and the Umbrellas
    Bekasi Regency, Indonesia
  • play
     urban planning
    Let's co-create our city: Jhenaidah
    Jhenaidah, Bangladesh
  • play
     housing
    Orphanage for former streetboys
    Nairobi, Kenya
  •  emergency shelter
    Arts and Trades Workshop "La Perseverancia"
    Jojutla, Morelos, Mexico
  •  education
    Okana center for change
    Okana, Kenya
  •  education
    Polyvalent Cultural Center in Senegal
    Tanaff, Senegal
  •  health & sanitation
    Better Bhalswa
    Delhi, India
  • play
    GC2022 finalist
     education
    The Baitussalam School
    Jacobabad, Pakistan
  • play
     meeting place
    Trichy Commons Network
    Trichy, India
  •  health & sanitation
    Hygiene Station for Cattlefield Village School
    Yunnan, China
  •  meeting place
    BES Pavilion
    Ha Tinh city, Vietnam
  • play
     health & sanitation
    KINATCO Community Centre Project : PHASE II
    Mathare 3A Slums, Nairobi, Kenya
  •  religion & memorial
    Bamboo chapels
    Jama, Ecuador
  •  education
    Training Center for Mae Tao Clinic
    Mae Sot, Thailand
  •  meeting place
    THE SHIP WALL OF ANIMAS
    Havana, Cuba
  • GC2022 finalist
     meeting place
    Barrios que Cuidan
    Independencia - Lima, Peru
  • play
     education
    SSPD Slum School
    Lahore , Pakistan
  •  housing
    RE:Ukraine housing. Pilot project
    Vorzel, Ukraine
  •  housing
    Le Village Noir
    Gatlang, Nepal
  •  meeting place
    Casa De La Cultura, Arte y Paz, Jacobo Arenas
    San José del Guaviare, Colombia
  •  urban planning
    Re-imagining tea carts in Calicut, India
    Calicut, India
next