Coffee Dunes
Coffee Dunes
Coffee Dunes
RISD Masters in Industrial Design Full Scale| 2024
Professor: Tucker Houlihan
Armenian coffee has always been present—within our home, where its scent lingered, and outside, where vendors stirred copper pots into dunes of heated sand. I grew up watching, then learning, until one day, I was the one brewing it for my family. It was never just about the drink—it was about the warmth of familiar voices, the feeling of belonging. Now, far from the streets and kitchens where it once lived so effortlessly, I reach for it not just for the taste, but to recreate the space it once filled. In Armenia, coffee is more than a drink—it is a ritual, a reason to gather, a moment shared. Inspired by the traditional sand-brewed coffee found in Armenian markets and streets, Coffee Dunes brings this experience into the heart of a modern space.
Designed with walnut and copper—materials deeply rooted in Armenian craftsmanship—the table bridges tradition and modernity. Its oval form encourages engagement from all sides, transforming coffee-making into a shared experience rather than a task relegated to the kitchen. A heated sand pit, seamlessly embedded within a circular cutout, allows for the direct brewing of coffee in a jazve, just as it is prepared in Armenia. Copper leafing, inspired by the curves of spoons and jazves, flows across the walnut surface, accentuating the tactile and visual warmth of the piece.
By merging material, form, and ritual, Coffee Dunes recontextualizes an age-old practice—blurring the boundary between object and experience, function and tradition, the everyday and the ceremonial.
RISD Masters in Industrial Design Full Scale| 2024
Professor: Tucker Houlihan
Armenian coffee has always been present—within our home, where its scent lingered, and outside, where vendors stirred copper pots into dunes of heated sand. I grew up watching, then learning, until one day, I was the one brewing it for my family. It was never just about the drink—it was about the warmth of familiar voices, the feeling of belonging. Now, far from the streets and kitchens where it once lived so effortlessly, I reach for it not just for the taste, but to recreate the space it once filled. In Armenia, coffee is more than a drink—it is a ritual, a reason to gather, a moment shared. Inspired by the traditional sand-brewed coffee found in Armenian markets and streets, Coffee Dunes brings this experience into the heart of a modern space.
Designed with walnut and copper—materials deeply rooted in Armenian craftsmanship—the table bridges tradition and modernity. Its oval form encourages engagement from all sides, transforming coffee-making into a shared experience rather than a task relegated to the kitchen. A heated sand pit, seamlessly embedded within a circular cutout, allows for the direct brewing of coffee in a jazve, just as it is prepared in Armenia. Copper leafing, inspired by the curves of spoons and jazves, flows across the walnut surface, accentuating the tactile and visual warmth of the piece.
By merging material, form, and ritual, Coffee Dunes recontextualizes an age-old practice—blurring the boundary between object and experience, function and tradition, the everyday and the ceremonial.
RISD Masters in Industrial Design Full Scale| 2024
Professor: Tucker Houlihan
From Ritual to Object
From Ritual to Object
Coffee Dunes is a way to bring tradition into the spaces we create for ourselves. Designed to honor the Armenian ritual of slow-brewed coffee, it transforms an everyday object into an experience—one that bridges past and present, function and ritual.
Coffee Dunes is a way to bring tradition into the spaces we create for ourselves. Designed to honor the Armenian ritual of slow-brewed coffee, it transforms an everyday object into an experience—one that bridges past and present, function and ritual.
Coffee Dunes is a way to bring tradition into the spaces we create for ourselves. Designed to honor the Armenian ritual of slow-brewed coffee, it transforms an everyday object into an experience—one that bridges past and present, function and ritual.
Designed with walnut and copper—materials deeply rooted in Armenian craftsmanship—the table bridges tradition and modernity. Its oval form encourages engagement from all sides, transforming coffee-making into a shared experience rather than a task relegated to the kitchen. A heated sand pit, seamlessly embedded within a circular cutout, allows for the direct brewing of coffee in a jazve, just as it is prepared in Armenia. Copper leafing, inspired by the curves of spoons and jazves, flows across the walnut surface, accentuating the tactile and visual warmth of the piece.
The Process
The Process
Form Ideation
Form Ideation
Form Ideation
By merging material, form, and ritual, Coffee Dunes recontextualizes an age-old practice—blurring the boundary between object and experience, function and tradition, the everyday and the ceremonial.