Located in Ras Al Khaimah, the UAE's northernmost emirate, Hoof is a 115-square-metre cafe described by Bone as "a brutalist reinterpretation of countryside equine architecture".
Hoof embodies a brutalist reinterpretation of countryside equine architecture where the physical discrepancies between noble, interior, and exterior materials, as well as utilitarian and natural finishes, play an integral role in defining a sensorial architecture.
Bone’s interest lied in investigating the essential function of a horse stall. Its minimal design and proportions suffice to provide the horse with bare necessities, no more, no less. While attempting to recreate in an abstract way the ritual of a horse caretaker through a stable Bone experimented with abstracting the autonomous minimalist aspect of stalls and using it as the architectural driver for Hoof.
As the driving organ, the coffee bar is defined as a self-sufficient, deconstructed series of monolithic stainless steel blocks that, through their fragmentation, allow for an enhanced appreciation of each different coffee making processes. Immersing one in an environment that through its subtle spatial planning, minimalistic architecture, earthy materiality, detailed construct techniques and mechanisms, will make one feel familiar yet intrigued by the implicit yet bold reinterpretation of a horse stable, broken down to its bare purpose, and raw evocations.
