Inspiring Interiors – Café Space Planning & Zoning

This month the GT3 Interiors team have explored the increased importance and innovative opportunity of space planning within leisure centre cafes. These community-driven retail spaces are becoming more and more of a selling point for operators, as they compete with near-by sandwich bars and well-known coffee chains near-by.

Space planning is an important part of building design and is used to determine how a space (or spaces) should be laid out and used. Zoning means separating or dividing areas according to their function, usage, and accessibility, sometimes referred to as sub-zoning – another important part of interior design which can help create extra capacity within a space and maximise potential.

The emphasis on café design stems from the fact that these spaces can entice new customers in, increase dwell time, and subsequent spending. Any operator’s dream!

Therefore, we have been purposefully introducing more built-in joinery pieces to maximise zoning within the café spaces we design, to offer a wider variety of seat settings, and extend the amount of viewing opportunities.

We hope that the echoes of scraping chairs and children shouting will also reduce, as these elements will help tackle the acoustics, allowing people to feel more relaxed and improving overall wellbeing. Not to mention more opportunities to host power outputs, decorative planting, and tactile materials too.