Studio Memo was contracted by Starbucks EMEA as Forensic Architect for several locations in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
The Starbucks EMEA headquarters is located in London. It oversees operations, store development and licensing of the Starbucks Coffee -brand and -business for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).
As Forensic Architect, Studio Memo was trusted with the duty of assessing the pre-construction and as-built status of over a dozen Starbucks stores, between 2017 and 2019. Our task was to identify issues relating to wear-and-tear, daily operations, building performance and construction. We would work on-site to document factual evidence, determine potential causes and advise on solutions. Our reports were used as a basis for lease (renewal) negotiations. In other instances, our advice helped to determine a renovation strategy and budget.
Our work included performing non-intrusive surveys; minor-intrusive surveys; damage assessments; root-cause analysis; hazardous construction materials analysis and code compliance analysis. We would interview staff regarding operational aspects of (operational) stores, and we would analyze location-viability for potential new store development.
Since 2019 and following the sale of licensing rights by Starbucks EMEA to Alsea SAB (for the Luxembourg, Belgium, French and Dutch markets), Studio Memo has incorporated most of our past Forensic Architecture responsibilities in our current scope of work as Architect of Record for Alsea. Since 2019 and following the sale of licensing rights by Starbucks EMEA to Alsea SAB (for the Luxembourg, Belgium, French and Dutch markets), Studio Memo has incorporated most of our past Forensic Architecture responsibilities in our current scope of work as Architect of Record for Alsea. We have provided Forensic Architecture services for locations in London, Paris and Amsterdam, as well as Sunderland (UK), and the Dutch cities of Amersfoort, Amstelveen, Arnhem, Capelle aan den IJssel, Eindhoven, Enschede, Groningen, Leidschendam, Maastricht, Rotterdam, The Hague, Tilburg and Utrecht.
Selected reference projects:
At Starbucks Westfield Mall of the Netherlands (Leidschendam, The Netherlands), we worked with the GC during the construction process to resolve structural, MEP and HVAC complications that arose after erroneous positioning and dimensioning of concrete coring.
For the new Starbucks Rokin store, a historic building in the heart of Amsterdam was surveyed and examined regarding the presence of hazardous construction materials (asbestos), and potential structural deficiencies regarding the ground floor.
At Starbucks Covent Garden (London, United Kingdom), we performed a detailed as-built survey, including renovation advice and solutions regarding the improvement of FAS and emergency evacuation routing.