Tucked inside London’s Holborn tube station, where commuters move in currents rather than at will, EBBA has turned a former dry cleaners into the fifth location for Joe Blake’s coffee.
The previous tenant had designed the space "purely for transactional use," and EBBA’s first instinct was to reverse that—to make the compact kiosk feel like a pause rather than a purchase.
The studio began with modest structural changes, widening sightlines and adjusting the flow between the street and counter area. "We transformed the kiosk into a more accessible and engaging space," they explain, "allowing it to function not just as a point of service but as a small architectural moment within the station." Conceived as "both a daily ritual and a momentary refuge," the space is designed for commuters seeking a quick, restorative dose of coffee—not a destination, but a threshold between one journey and the next.
A rounded stainless steel counter sits at the heart of the room, with a small built-in display area for pastries and sweets. Behind the counter, a storage wall of cabinets with a "milky" surface finish hazily conceals equipment and stock. "The idea for the milky screen stemmed from the desire to create a subtle veil between the customer-facing area and the preparation spaces, echoing the quiet clarity found in contemporary pharmacy displays," the studio explains. "The diffused quality of the screen introduces a soft luminosity that stabilises the visual field, helping the cafe feel composed and serene."
Sand-coloured plaster on the ceiling and mirrors on the end wall extend the sense of space, while an orange decal of Joe Blake’s handwritten logo on the central mirror adds a single warm accent. It is a small room doing careful, measured work—proof that even in the rush of the underground, architecture can hold space for a breath.
