container café

chick-fil-a

With the creation of Chick-fil-A’s new innovation center came the need to turn the coffee cart into a fully functioning break area. Because, let’s face it, you have to have snacks to fuel creativity!

Hatch needed a more highly detailed place for food and beverage that was not just a cart on a wall. After having seen a boom in repurposing shipping containers we thought — why not make our own?

Our design team set to work, diving into the innovation process to define the purpose of the new break area, uncover user needs, and iterate on fresh concepts. The area required storage, counter space, plumbing, refrigeration, an ice machine, and a dishwasher. The idea to repurpose a shipping container bloomed from current trends and the desire to transform a warehouse into a playful environment that sparks creativity. Through research we discovered that the dimensions of a typical shipping container over-constrained our defined program of user needs. Basically, we needed more space. And after careful iterative design and cost analysis of salvaging a container, we came to the conclusion that better economic and ergonomic value presented itself in creating our own container, rather than salvaging and transporting an existing one.

A true in-house design and fabrication feat, the final product provided Chick-fil-A’s innovation employees with a functional and intriguing area to recharge and interact with coworkers. It even exceeded our clients expectations by including a “roof-top” seating area (complete with a code-compliant staircase) that responded to the users’ need for private workspaces.