Undergraduate Landscape Architecture Students Create Exterior Concepts for New South Tucson Coffee Shop
Luna y Sol Cafe exterior concepts. Image by Allison Castro Bazurto.
Nineteen students in a fall 2022 Bachelor of Landscape Architecture design studio created concepts for a new coffee shop coming soon to South Tucson: Luna y Sol Cafe.
Created under the guidance of College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture lecturers Alexandra Stoicof and Nolan Bade, the concepts explore exterior designs for the coffee shop, a 3,000-square-foot building that will be redeveloped and which most recently housed a party supply store.
Owners Selina and Abraham Barajas want the space to “offer not only a quality product, but also a great neighborhood feeling,” says Abraham in a November 24, 2022 article in the Arizona Daily Star. “We want to get to know our community and make everyone feel welcomed. We won’t just be a coffee shop. We will be a hub for the community.”
Taking into account the Barajas’ goal for the coffee shop to serve as a community gathering space, students presented their individual concepts to Selina. A total of 57 concepts, three from each student, were presented. The Arizona Daily Star featured concepts by Annamaria Pongratz and Allison Castro Bazurto.
Luna y Sol Cafe exterior concepts. Image by Annamaria Pongratz.
The couple will choose ideas from among all student designs to finalize their own design for the outdoor space and parking lot.
“It is always uniquely valuable to have students collaborate with a community partner on studio projects,” says Stoicof, a landscape architect and adjunct lecturer in landscape architecture who is especially interested in the public outreach process and enabling important dialogues between project stakeholders. “They learn how to communicate in a real-life scenario and prioritize client expectations alongside their own design ideas. This particular project also challenged students to repurpose an existing parking lot in South Tucson, an area which, similar to many urban cores, can benefit from heat mitigating interventions and improved walkability.”
Luna y Sol Cafe is scheduled to open in fall 2023.
Read the full article in the Arizona Daily Star (subscription required) or view on #ThisisTucson (no subscription required).
Learn more about the University of Arizona Bachelor of Landscape Architecture program or explore how you can support student and community engagement programs offered by CAPLA.
