Brewtalist Cup
Homeware Design2017
Like many people, I do enjoy a cup of coffee perhaps a little too frequently while working. Inspired by brutalist architecture, the Brewtalist cup intends to solve this problem with its copper finished cup and raw concrete base.
The cup is inspired by forms and materials found in brutalism
While travelling in Copenhagen in 2017, my friends and I visited Michelin star restauraunt Relæ. We were sat at our table and I noticed that there was a dainty drawer that housed each person’s menu, plus an array of elegant knives and forks for each course. When picking up the silverware I noticed that they were especially heavy, which stimulated a conversation about whether it was intentional to slow down our rate of eating, in the hope that it would allow us to enjoy our experience even more. Arriving back home to my native Scotland, I researched this and found an article confirming it on Wired magazine. This sparked the idea to apply this theory to a cup, to help users slow down their rate of consumption of caffeinated beverages.
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Brewtalist cup with bespoke patina finish
Formed of copper-plated stainless steel with a smooth concrete magnetic base, the steel of the coffee cup becomes too hot to touch at first. This encourages the user to hold it by the ridges of the concrete base. As the cup is heavier than most other mugs, this causes the user to slow down their levels of consumption and helps them to focus on enjoying their drinking experience, in a similar fashion to eating with heavy cutlery at a restaurant.
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Hand rendering of the initial concept
In addition to offering a pleasant tactile experience for the user, the concrete base also features thermal mass properties; it effectively acts as a heat mat for the cup, keeping the hot drink warmer for longer. This theory can also be applied to cold beverages containing ice cubes. Magnets are embedded within the base and hold the two components together, while enabling a simple release action so that the cup can be washed at the end of its use.
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Cup with greater volume and concrete base for larger beverages
The Brewtalist Cup was featured in Journal Du Design and can be read in detail here.
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Brewtalist cup with bespoke patina finish
Formed of copper-plated stainless steel with a smooth concrete magnetic base, the steel of the coffee cup becomes too hot to touch at first. This encourages the user to hold it by the ridges of the concrete base. As the cup is heavier than most other mugs, this causes the user to slow down their levels of consumption and helps them to focus on enjoying their drinking experience, in a similar fashion to eating with heavy cutlery at a restaurant.
Hand rendering of the initial concept
In addition to offering a pleasant tactile experience for the user, the concrete base also features thermal mass properties; it effectively acts as a heat mat for the cup, keeping the hot drink warmer for longer. This theory can also be applied to cold beverages containing ice cubes. Magnets are embedded within the base and hold the two components together, while enabling a simple release action so that the cup can be washed at the end of its use.
Cup with greater volume and concrete base for larger beverages
The Brewtalist Cup was featured in Journal Du Design and can be read in detail here.
| Category | Homeware Product |
|---|---|
| Year | 2017 |
| Material | Concrete / Copper anodised Stainless Steel |
| Dimension | 50mm x 50mm x 75mm |