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Art and design in the name of coffee
Art and design in the name of coffee.
The story of a coffee-library shop becoming an art gallery.
Recicled wood panels painted by hand telling the bolivian culture, the story of coffee and the importance of connection and relationship. It’s the story of the Fundación Roca Gravato in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, an old professional school transformed by Luis Alberto Roca and Rita Gravato in a coffee shop, art gallery and library.
“When my parents decided to open in their old professional school an art gallery – Luis Pedro Roca said -, we decided to move our bookstore and coffee shop there and to combine our passion for coffee and for art. It was not the first time we caught an opportunity like that: eleven years ago our bookstore was about to close and we decided to open a coffee shop inside. It was an incredible idea, even because I felt in love with coffee and I’ve soon became a SCA certified barista, and so three years ago we started roasting coffee. We buy green coffee from bolvian producers, and we have a private machine of 5Kilos roasting our Alto Tostado specialty coffee”.
Now in the Foundation Roca Gravato visitors can taste excellent coffees, they can enjoy solo exhibit of local artists and a big gallery with real size reproductions of important pieces of art made by local artists. “It’s our committment to give the possibility to see important masterpiece to Bolivian people can’t visit international museums and to share the passion for art” – said Luis Pedro Roca.
With hundreds of visitors per days the art gallery continue is mission of sharing the passion for art and for coffee through the coffee shop brewing coffee and cappuccino with Victoria Arduino coffee machines. “The Eagle One and E1 Prima have been inspiringing machines for our 6 resident artists – told us Luis Pedro Roca. “They replicated the back panels of the machines using recycled wood and other different materials and they started to paint them. The result was really impressive so that we start selling customized Eagle One and Prima machines, a new big step ahead for our business!”
From an anthropological point of view ‘customization’ is referred to a process of cultural appropriation and creation of bespoke design, supporting people to tell their identity, their own stories and to communicate a message. “Our resident artists did it – told us Camilla Roca – and our customers are enthusiasts because in their coffee shop they can enjoy a great coffee machine and, at the same time, a unique piece of art telling the culture of our Country, or coffee origins or the committment for a sustainable growth, or what they want to communicate”.
“For me coffee is a form of art – said Betzalel Maida, one of the six resident artists – we can paint using different surfaces and different technics as a barista can brew coffee using single origins or blend and different brewing methods. The most important thing is to offer a great experience for all your senses.”
E1 Prima selected for ADI Design Index 2021
After Eagle One, E1 Prima by Victoria Arduino has been selected for ADI Design Index 2021. The Industrial Design Association made the announcement yesterday in Milan during an event at ADI Design Museum.
The ADI Design Index 2021 is a special selection, made by the Permanent Observatory of Design, that covers products and product systems in every market, theoretical and critical research and design-related processes or businesses. The ADI Design Index represents a preselection to Compasso d’Oro Award by ADI, the most prestigious industrial design award worldwide with the aim to enhance the value of italian design.
Why E1 Prima?
E1 Prima is a product representing and decoding a change in coffee consumption. Specialty products are more requested, prepared with high quality “gourmet” prime materials produced ethically and sustainably. Quality coffee is becoming a real lifestyle where people search for an exclusive coffee experience even outside the coffee shop, like food trucks, boutiques, offices, homes, and many other settings. E1 PRIMA is a versatile and eclectic coffee machine able to interpret the current trends and envision the future.
Coffee machines are not just serving tools, they also carry a real message, whose meaning expands to greater dimensions, that include an expression of the personality of the barista, roaster or coffee lover, a story, a life and tendency.
It’s very easy to customize by using different tones and natural materials like wood or technological materials like steel, resins and aluminium. That enables to express your own personality and vision through the coffee machine. E1 Prima thus becomes part of a story, a philosophy that changes with its surroundings. For his capacity to transform and create a message, the architect and ambassador of the excellence of Italian creativity in the world, Giulio Cappellini, created a special selection of “seasonal look” adding fresh new colors and textures that interpret the current trends. With many images for a unique idea of accessible glamour like a tailored dress or fashion accessory, PRIMA is available in many colours and exclusive editions.
Like in the Eagle One machine, E1 Prima by Victoria Arduino pinpointed a goal: designing a product where workflow comfort meets esthetical and functional qualities while continuing technological research and igniting innovative energy. The result is a perfect combination of esthetics and simplicity. Furthermore, it offers a sustainable design that fully considers the machine’s environmental impact in terms of economic and energy savings. NEO (New Engine Optimization) technology represents an intelligent approach of water heating and guarantees high performance while increasing energy efficiency. E1 Prima has been designed to be more compact, more performant, and more sustainable
With E1 PRIMA app barista and coffee lovers can set temperature, extraction time, steam and hot water together with the weekly programming. Moreover, the app can also create recipes, share them, or set those recipes proposed by the users’ dedicated roastery or barista. It can also become a recipe sharing device by going on the section ‘Cloud recipe’ of the Victoria Arduino app.
