In August 2012, Voyager made its historic entry into interstellar space, the region between stars – and that spirit of adventure is what inspired the owners of Voyager Espresso, an underground coffee bar in New York City, when they chose a memorable interior design.

The Australian owners turned to Only If architects to design the 550 square foot coffee shop, which is on a subway concourse in the city's financial district. Inside the first circle is the barista station, where the espresso machine and other tools of the trade can be found. The coffees – all sourced by La Cabra coffee in Aarhus, Denmark – are joined by tea, hot chocolate, lemonade and other beverages. A short menu offers food options including an avocado toast or banana-spinach-macadamia milk breakfast smoothie.

While the barista bar takes up much of the space, the remaining space is wrapped in a curved wall that represents the second circle. Counters and bar stools line the outer ring in a shop that's designed to reflect the science and aerospace materials of the Voyager mission while making the best use of space.

"Practically, the layout consolidates the storage and back of house at the rear of the space, and maximizes visibility of Voyager Espresso along its glass storefront to the subway concourse," explains the If Only team. "The layout creates a variety of different social settings for seating; from individual to collective, and from intimate to exposed."

All of the walls are painted using an aluminium enamel paint, which is applied to a basic particle board used for the paneling. The color and texture of elements to go with the aluminium walls also reflect the space theme: All of the work surfaces are done in a black marble countertop, while black rubber trim is incorporated. So are perforated panels in aluminium and copper that wrap the barista circle and seating.

"The cumulative effect is inexpensive yet futuristic," the design team explains of the smart material choices. It also results in an unusually clean and minimalist feel that delivers on the industrial, without erasing all traces of warmth and community, which are just as important to the coffee-culture feel.

With the nod to star-keepers like Albert Einstein and Carl Sagan – their quotes are on the Voyager Espresso website – the shop owners explain that they've made their choices in the same spirit of creativity mixed with curiosity. "The greatest scientists are always artists as well," Einstein says.

For their part, Voyager Express sees itself as "questioning the common wisdom" with its space. "We embrace a love for science and art and integrate them to create something truly special," they said.

The architects of the award-winning shop, and their smart materials choices, are a perfect fit for the Voyager Express vision. Their practice fuses architecture, urbanism and interior design to make the most out of their options – as is the case with Narrow House, a futuristic stack of cubes in Brooklyn. They're also the force behind "Irregular Development," a database of small, triangular or odd lots that aren't being used in New York City, and initiatives to look at ways they could be used.