From time to time we are going to look at tangible real experiences of space in our community. We want to share with you some of our favorite places and explore why they work. We realized that Boynton-McKay Food Co. in downtown Camden is our default place for breakfast and decided to meet there to try and figure out why we like it so much.

The presence of the people in the window looking out, the newspapers in the rack and the dogs tied outside all invite you from Main Street to the inside "streetscape" of this little gem of space. The first order of the day is to locate a booth. Spaces fill up fast here. As you walk down the street between the booths, peering into each one to see if it is empty, there is the pleasure of seeing a familiar face and either dismay or delight, depending on whether the booth is free.

Today we get lucky and slide in on the left. We fetch a cup of coffee and sit back down. Design affects how we feel, whether we are aware of it or not. The booths are like a series of rooms along a street, both open and closed. We feel safe because of the high backs, but the backs don't go all the way to the wall. The shelf at the end of the booths which runs the entire length of the space, creates an openness and flow between the booths without sacrificing the intimacy of these little rooms. The circles cut into the seat backs reinforce the play of interwoven openness and shelter that is so invigorating.

There is also a coherent graphic thread that weaves through the whole experience of this place, from the logo on the coffee cups to the details on the brickwork outside. Boynton - McKay was originally a pharmacy and the remnants of this earlier time can still be seen. You can still get a soda from the original fountain and the apothecary cabinets still line the walls, along with photos and objects from its earlier life. The design of the space as a café is completely integrated with its pharmacy past, adding a richness of memory and time, without succumbing to pastiche. It is a real place that has evolved and the evolution is tangible.

The beautiful tin ceiling, which defines the limits of the dining space, is original, whereas the bead board booths were created for the café. However, the booths take design elements of the original pharmacy and transform them, multiplying them on a variety of scales. It never gets too repetitive because the booths are subtly varied. The depths, table surfaces, coat hooks and colors of the seats are different on each side. Our intelligence is engaged, not insulted.

We finish breakfast, go up to the front and tell them what we ate. They tell us what we owe them. It's all based on trust and we leave knowing why people are at such a loss when the owners, Phil and Susan, take a vacation.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Chris Wohler came to Camden 20 years ago after living in New York for 24 years. She has a BA in History from Cornell University and a Masters of Architecture from Columbia University. She has taught at Ball State University, Parsons School of Design and Columbia University. Her design practice, Breathing Space, encompasses everything from architectural design to retail merchandising.

She likes blackbirds, crosswords, babies, Miles Davis, avocados, quantum physics, Robert Frank, chartreuse, Puccini, roses, graphite drawings, the collaborative process, Great Danes, Patti Smith, gardening, J.S. Bach’s Suites for Solo Cello, architectural plans, movies, Philip Pullman, cooking with friends, everything by Beethoven, New York City and her two sons who currently live there. Reach her at breathingspace2@gmail.com.

Rosie Curtis lives in Camden and teaches architecture at UMA.

Originally from England, she has been designing and building in Midcoast Maine for the last twenty years although she indulges in a spot of work for a British engineering firm now and then. She holds two bachelors degrees and a masters degree in architecture and has been interested in the built environment her whole life. She believes that design is fundamentally about things working well and looking good. Her two kids are fed up of hearing her pontificate about all things design related and hope this column will provide a channel for her endless wonderings. Reach her at rosie@fairpoint.net.