Awesome Mobile Prefab Coffee Platform is a Rapid Prototyped Way to Get Your Morning Caffeine

It took students at the California College of the Arts (CCA) less than a week to manufacture and assemble this <a href="http://inhabitat.com/bike-powered-mobile-coffee-bar-hits-the-streets-of-new-york/">mobile coffee bar</a> for their studio design/build workshop. "<a href="http://inhabitat.com/new-post-submission/">Rapid Type</a>" is the result of their hard work and is a prefabricated station set to serve up your morning fix. With a grant from Mitsubishi Plastics Inc. and the help of their adjunct architecture professors Andre Caradec (<a href="http://sumarch.com/">Studio Under Manufacture</a>) and Kory Bieg (<a href="http://kbieg.com/">OTA+</a>), the students explored new design uses and assembly techniques for <a href="http://www.alpolic-usa.com/">Alpolic</a> aluminum composite materials (ACM). They combined their research with a growing trend in the Bay Area - mobile food trucks and created a workable, economical and buzz worthy concept.

Mitsubishi Plastics, Inc. donated to the studio a generous supply of Alpolic, which is a unique aluminum composite material.

Mitsubishi hoped the students could explore the material and come up with innovative uses in architecture.

The students and their professor aimed to push the material to its extents within the limits of currently available CNC fabrication technology.

At the same time, the design studio also set out to explore why prefab construction has not as big of an impact as it was touted to have done.

Through the students research and marketing studies and love of mobile food trucks, they settled on a design for a mobile coffee station.

While mobile food trucks are seen everywhere, their design and functionality often leaves much to be desired.

To create the mobile coffee platform, the students built a rolling steel frame, which can be moved by hand or pulled by vehicle.

The body of the coffee bar is composed of ribs of Alpolic cut with a CNC machine and partially covered with a plywood exterior.

The barista stands behind the wraparound bar serving up coffee drinks, while customers can stand under the shade and chat it up.

There is no floor to the coffee bar and the barista stands at the same level as their patrons, which also helps during cleanup.

Rapid Type was completed in early May and is available for special events should you need your own rolling coffee shop.

A scaled model of the coffee platform.

The students who worked on the project.