Cafe Mango

A Bangla culture, formerly known for the cultural habit of Addabaji [sharing stories], began to lose the public spaces where one could carry on such act with civility. The idea of Café Mango came in response to this absence. Unlike our youth, there are now increasingly fewer places to go to with a book to read while having a cup of tea. Nor were there occasions where one could reunite with a friend, or meet a stranger and become friends over that cup of tea. Presence of such absent places gave rise to the idea of building one of the first café-as-community in Dhaka. The name “Mango” was chosen to further support the idea. A juicy tropical fruit that comes during a long hot summer, it can be eaten raw, ripe, or even over-ripe. Almost everyone can afford to eat a mango or two while it is in season. One can say it is a fruit of love and desire, in all stages of life.

To help support the conceptual idea of this space, the design process took up the idea of etching on physical surfaces, and collaging of indigenous materials, as a way for architecture to explore the challenges and pleasures of this society, at this time. To emphasise the inherent principle of material objects and physical space, each element that was found at the original site, and any building material that was brought into the project, was kept near its original state.

To help Mango visitors to comprehend the inner quality of materials, selection of materials was kept to a bare minimum. In the design, four different materials were used in their raw state: glass, steel, brick, and wood. The proportionate mix of each material was tested through collages and drawings. The usual and banal process of coating and treatment of surfaces was strictly limited, keeping new and recycled construction materials near their original state. Since the act of surface finishing is for both aesthetic and longevity reasons, we took alternative steps to slow down natural decay. Metal surfaces were treated with butcher’s wax, wooden surfaces with waterproofing, and brick walls were washed and brushed clean.

To create a strong link between the interior space, garden, roof terrace, and the street, vertical and horizontal planes of wall and floor surfaces were physically cut out. In doing so, the idea of transparency was used to give each visitor the privilege of being everywhere in the cafe.

The scale and form of each seating position was deigned to challenge derivative conventions, inventing a new language appropriate to this city. Tables and benches were arranged at various heights and shapes, to challenge the norm of physical distance in public space. To emphasise social gathering as a theatrical act, the main window that connects the cafe to the street, is proportionate to a viewing screen. The idea is that the onlookers can look into the cafe interior, and the café visitor can look outside; thus, a temporary communion is created between the café and the city.

Finally, the café is not only a space for meeting friends, but also a quiet refuge for the solitary visitor. A rotating set of art exhibitions on the brick walls offers a chance for conversation or contemplation, around new stories and familiar tales.

Café mango stands on the idea of “presence of absence” in this city. It refuses pretension in its design, and dismisses derivative ideas in its construction. On closer examination, it reveals the honesty it possesses. Café Mango is a literal translation of carving and etching, like a print maker on a zinc plate. In each successive layer of its design, it reveals the language of the investigation and the materials that were investigated.

Salauddin Ahmed

Proprietor of Cafe Mango, Practicing Architect at Atelier Robin Architects, Design Critic, Director of Curatorial and Design Program at Bengal Institute for Architecture, Landscapes and Settlement. Dhaka, Bangladesh.