Hasta La Ideas

Following our hotly debated story about the new-look interiors for fast-food giant McDonalds in France, here’s a revamped outlet for rival Burger King in Singapore that’s designed to imitate a garden. 

Like McDonalds, Burger King want to appeal to families with children as well as to teenagers, so commissioned design collective Outofstock to update their restaurants.

The Burger King Garden Grill features a plant-covered trellis ceiling, exposed brick walls and plant-pot pendent lamps.

The dining area is filled with stick-back chairs more usually found in English kitchens and metal-framed wooden dining tables inspired by camping furniture, while sofas upholstered with outdoor fabrics line the walls.

Posters advertising food are displayed in pictures frames propped up on wooden shelves.

More restaurants incorporating the new design are scheduled to open in Singapore and Japan in 2012.

Other designer updates to fast-food restaurants include a Little Chef outlet by Ab Rogers and a chicken shop in Munich by Ippolito Fleitz Group.

Here’s some more information from Outofstock:

“BK Garden Grill” by Outofstock

Burger King Asia-Pacific recently commissioned Outofstock to design a pilot restaurant in Singapore. The goal of the project was to create a new interior identity for Burger King. Some key points mentioned by BK was that they wanted a warm and welcoming store that would appeal to a wide audience – teens, young adults as well as families with children – the design should stand out but at the same time be accessible for the man on the street.

We started off by analysing the BK brand, it’s advertising visuals as well as its history. We noticed that one word that kept popping up was “flame grilled”, and we used this clue as a starting point. From collective experiences, our mental picture of flame grilling is closely associated with garden barbecues and camping cook-outs.

These activities, often held with groups of family and friends, left indelible memories in our growing up years. This led us to name the project “BK Garden Grill”, which is based on bringing the garden, as well as colours and textures of the outdoors into the restaurant.

We wanted to remind people of the joy of communal dining with family and friends in a warm and natural atmosphere, evoking memories of BBQ parties and summer camps.

We also aimed at created a more personable and flexible space, where potted plants can be neatly arranged or randomly placed on wooden ledges along exposed brick walls and glass windows. Framed marketing posters placed on these wooden shelves can be changed or moved about easily. More objects can be added to the fray with time as the restaurant develops its own story.

Custom designed lounge seats and ottomans are upholstered with outdoor fabrics that are water repellent. The lounge seating area is set against a collage wall of materials and textures, most of which are applied throughout the restaurant, from raw concrete to clay bricks, wood veneers as well as cork, blackboard, copper and brass. BK’s branding and slogans can be applied in a more engaging way with this material wall.

An overhead “roof” trellis takes visual attention away from exposed services such as air-conditioning and kitchen exhaust trunking while also acting as cable trays for pendant lamps and spot lights. We suspended clay, concrete and aluminum pots as pendant lamps to add to the garden atmosphere.

We designed simple metal framed tables whose structure is reminiscent of foldable camping furniture, but being very strong and easy to clean. We sourced for a traditional stick-back chair to complete the look of the restaurant.

The pilot store was officially opened during the recent BK Asia-Pacific Conference in Singapore and was met with generally positive feedback. More Burger King outlets based on our “Garden Grill” concept are currently being built in Singapore and Japan, and will be open by early 2012.

Circular mirrors, glowing acrylic rods and large yellows discs adorn the ceiling of this canteen for German magazine Der Spiegel (photos by Zooey Braun).

Designed by Ippolito Fleitz Group Identity Architects, the dining room is located on the ground floor of the company’s headquarters in the Hafencity development of southern Hamburg.

Over 4000 of the satin-polished aluminium panels cover the ceiling, concealing electrical wiring and fittings behind.

Round lamps hang like upside-down mushrooms above each table and can be individually brightened or dimmed by diners.

The suspended acrylic rods are arranged into curved rows to separate clusters of tables and are illuminated from above.

Painted blacks lines indent the white terrazzo floor to define walkways and discourage encroaching chairs.

Hafencity is a large development beside Hamburg’s Elbe River – other recent projects in the area include a concert hall by Herzog & de Meuron and a curvy apartment block.

Here’s some more information from the architects:

In October 2011 the SPIEGEL Group, whose stable includes Germany’s most important news magazine Der SPIEGEL, moved into its new publishing house in Hamburg’s HafenCity development. This impressive structure on the Eriscusspitze, lapped by the waters of the River Elbe, was designed by Danish architect Henning Larsen.

Ippolito Fleitz Group was commissioned to create a new employees’ canteen for the building. The legacy building’s famous canteen was designed in 1969 by Verner Panton and has since been placed under heritage protection. This inheritance represented a particular challenge.

Verner Panton’s canteen

Our deliberations began with a question: could we integrate Verner Panton’s iconic facility into a new concept? After careful consideration we decided against adopting the facility. One factor which spoke against redeployment was the polygonal format of the new building, where Panton’s square-based modular concept would inevitably lead to virtually uncontrollable spatial remnants.

Furthermore, the new building offers little in the way of large, continuous walls which are crucial to the Panton concept. The old building had three separate, compact spaces which Panton enlivened with the dynamic forms and colours of his ceiling topography. The new space, however, covers a large area and gives a strong horizontal impression. But above all it seemed logical to us to complement the new architecture of the building with contemporary, future-oriented interior design – exactly what Panton’s facility once was for the previous building.

Starting point

The employees’ canteen was and is a calling card of the SPIEGEL Group, reflecting its journalistic philosophy as much as its culture of dialogue – not least because of its prominent position in the building and its high visibility from the exterior. Nonetheless it is a space which looks inward, only accessible to SPIEGEL employees and their guests.

That means it isn’t a “brand space” as such. The starting point for our deliberations was the characteristics of the space and of the building. The building distinguishes itself through its exposed position on the water and its modern architecture, expressed in the vertical interior space of the 14-storey atrium. The floor plan of the canteen defines a large, polygonal space whose strong horizontal emphasis is further highlighted by the uninterrupted row of windows on two sides.

Ceiling and light

Because the space had to be flexible, it was soon clear that the ceiling design would be the distinguishing moment of the canteen. Reflecting both this fact and the harbour location, we developed a matt shimmering ceiling which reflects light in much the same manner as water. It is formed of 4,230 circles made of micro-perforated satin-polished aluminium, laminated onto noise-absorbing supporting material and set at slight angles to each other. This means that the canteen’s natural light ambience reacts to its surroundings.

During the day the ceiling is enlivened by water and light effects from the surrounding area. The matt shimmering “plates” absorb daylight and turn the roof into a lively, gently reflective complement to the water surface of the Ericusgraben canal. Large-scale light dishes use intense colour to divide the space into zones. This colour generates a positive atmosphere in the space, even on grey days. Dimmable lamps suspended directly above tables ensure that light levels are infinitely variable.

In the evening the dishes are transformed into indirectly-lit light objects. The overall mood in the canteen is determined by the warm, white “ambient light” shed by the suspended lamps. Indirect light in selected suspended lamps discreetly illuminates the ceiling discs.Focussed downlights, hidden in the ceiling, complement the nuanced sophistication of the overall mood with light accents.Wallwashers integrated into the ceiling cast an even light on wall surfaces. They create a balance between horizontal and vertical illumination and optimise the sense of space by night, partly through reflections in glass surfaces.

The ceiling also has functional advantages: the area above the ceiling plates is painted black, along with the mandatory technical fittings, rendering them invisible. Ceiling diffusers and sprinklers effectively disappear. In addition, the upper ceiling was configured to be noise-absorbent, complementing the acoustic properties of the micro-perforated plates.

The space and its divisions

Despite the size of the space the visitor should never have an impression of monotonous, interchangeable, production-line construction. Rather the goal is to illustrate, in a dining context, the culture of dialogue which has flourished over the decades at SPIEGEL.

The employees’ canteen is a meeting place, a place of culture and informal exchange of opinions. At the same time it should fulfil functional obligations such as accessibility and spatial clarity.

The round, communicative tables are made from black coated steel frames which seem to grow from the floor in a graceful motion. Granite plates serve as table tops, their lasered surfaces working with the ceiling lights to create glare-free, brilliant light. The tables are placed within the space in three large groups in loose arrangements and so provide an organic counterpoint to the polygonal floor plan. Movement zones are thus clearly delineated.

Three lines are set into the smooth, white terrazzo floor: they ensure tables don’t encroach on walkways. Along these lines four areas are arranged with removable, lightweight spatial filters composed of white, hanging rods. Large yellow light dishes support the zoning of the space just as the hanging lamps locate tables within the space.

Wood panelling lends a sense of depth to structural hubs. The whitewashed, varnished surfaces appear even deeper thanks to a vertical, wavy relief which gives a textile-like effect.

Through a zigzagging glass façade a separate area can be formed at one end for discrete events or for use of the canteen late at night. A shoal of bright, hanging Plexiglas rods creates glare-free illumination and an intimate setting. The glass façade between this area and the canteen is formed of doubly reflective glass. So at times when both areas are in use, the separation is almost immaterial. However when the canteen is closed and thus darker, the façade appears half-mirrored, half-transparent.

The employees’ canteen in the SPIEGEL Group’s new headquarters is a space that meets all functional demands while creating a strong visual impact to form a truly distinguishing space. In so doing it supports the mature culture of communication within the company and in a grand gesture transmits these values to the outside world.

Paris architects Nadau Lavergne have completed a round wooden theatre and matching circular restaurant for a campsite in the south of France.

Located in the Landes pine forest, the buildings are situated beside recently constructed staff accommodation and shops for the growing campsite.

Zigzagging pine columns support the projecting facade of the eight metre-high theatre, creating a surrounding arcade that shelters the entrance.

Behind this projecting wall, a first floor mezzanine provides a balcony for viewing performances.

The single-storey restaurant faces the theatre across a deck.

Dining tables fan around half the building’s perimeter, while a semi-circular kitchen is housed at the rear.

This is the second recently completed project in the south of France from architects Nadau Lavergne, following a rusted steel winery at the end of the summer – see that project here.

Photography is by Philippe Caumes.

Here’s some more text from Nadau Lavergne:

Restaurant and theater for La Rive Domain, Biscarosse, France.

The campsite of La Rive is located in the Landes, and is bordered on the west by Lake Biscarosse, which you can access the beach from the campsite. The site is characterized by a flat-type heath pine forest. A strip trees surrounded the beach and works as a visual screen and it saves the natural landscape around it. The cluster restaurant, bar and entertainment, tapas bar is located behind the thick trees and stands near the pool complex. It redraws the beach access. The project is the second part of a large-scale development in the area of La Rive. It was initially to create staff accommodation and commercial premises in order to restructure the input. The second phase involves the construction division’s restaurant, bar and entertainment. It provides for the construction of three buildings that replace obsolete buildings.

This differentiation program has been designed from the outset as a necessity and an asset: the development of three distinct structures are identified, it was also appropriate a space previously unclear. The spatial distribution of volumes and function creates outdoor spaces that invite to the meeting and gathering. The structure is circular spaces inside and out and promotes interaction between inside and outside. Wood is the material of choice for this project, echoing the natural site on which it takes shape. The coat of wood patina and the seasons, and demonstrates the integration of the project in this particular site.

The restaurant and patio: outdoor games indoors.

The ground floor restaurant invites a pause in the game arcades. Circularity has been worked from a central landscaped patio. A glycine bound by a network of steel leaves son suspend proliferating clusters, whereas in the soil create multiple paths for a walk. Under the arcades of wood, a first circular terrace bordering the floral heart. A second circle hosting the counter, kitchen and amenities. From both sides, high glass panels interspersed, and open space, a terrace is received last in the arcades outside. From the outside, each space is visible in transparency looks through the structure to converge on the patio.

The bar animation: an area dedicated to entertainment.

The volume bar animation stands on a level (8 meters high). Located in a restaurant near the rational (an area planted with grasses is placed between the two volumes) and drawing and a pleasant way to the shores of the lake. True amphitheater configuration allows it to diversify the offerings. The large circular space can sometimes be transformed into a ballroom, or host a stage for various performances. It is visible from the outside with high windows that observe a slight decline in order to have outdoor galleries.

High, wooden structure observed leveling horizontal to accommodate the stands who hold a bow framed by the two main entrances. Wooden posts angled supports the stands and this outer framework, its geometry play, gives the impression of a superstructure in levitation. The volume as the restaurant is topped by a cupola of copper and the outer perimeter of the roof is vegetated.

The development of these three structures is intended coherent volume curves meet the line of motorized traffic within the project. Noting the existing (water park, health) and the natural site (pine forest), it allows to reconstruct the spatial and organize feeds. Plant deep breaths, walkways, volumes rational frames can completely reconfigure the space, which is not only a place of transition to the beach. Transition areas were particularly worked to contribute to the overall coherence of the program.

Thus, bands of grasses planted around the two main buildings, and they surround the west outdoor patios of restaurants, from which radiate three circulations to the main track. Volumes circular transparent glass walls in height, the game arcades, the privileged use of wood give, the project’s visual consistency.

Architect: Nadau Lavergne Architects
Location: Biscarosse, Gironde, France
Structural Engineer: Simonin

Carpenter: MCE Perchalec
Concrete: FORT
Concrete Engineer: CER3I
Vegetated roofing: APTE
Landscape: Lefebvre paysage
Mechanical and Electrical Engineer: BRUEY
Project Area: 2000 sqm

See also:

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Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama by BFLS	Carlos Santamaría Centre by JAAM	Theatre in Almonte by Donaire Arquitectos

Buddhas, lips and turtles abound in a California chocolatier

While walking along the shady tiled walkways to the quaint shops of La Arcada in Santa Barbara, a peek inside Chocolats du CaliBressan reveals a candy case filled with tiny turtles, ruby lips, glistening buddhas and classic truffle spheres.

After studying at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de la Pâtisserie, Chocolatier Jean-Michel Carré moved to California with his wife (who was originally from the Santa Barbara area) to focus his career on his love of chocolate. Now at Chocolat du Cali Bressan in Carpinteria and downtown Santa Barbara, Carré spends his days making ultra-rich handmade truffles and bon bons.

Among the store’s most popular items are the French Bisous—red lips made with dark and milk ganache chocolate with tangerine—and the Buddha Beauty, a truffle amulet filled with soft salted caramel that comes with instructions to lick his belly for good luck. Influenced by 30 years in the kitchens of restaurants in France, Switzerland and the U.K., each day the self-professed “passionate chocolatier” can be found experimenting with surprising ingredients like avocado, curry, Sichuan pepper, balsamic vinegar and lotus—a special request of the local estate and public garden Lotusland.

If we had to pick a favorite, it would be the La Arcada Turtle with cajeta, Mexican milk caramel—it was almost too cute to eat, but after biting off the tasty little legs of the shiny green treat, an intense craving for more took over. Time to plan another visit very soon. Chocolats du CaliBressan’s La Arcada location is located at 1114 State Street, #2; there’s also a store at 4193 Carpinteria Avenue, Suite 4 in Carpinteria, CA.

This Barcelona cafe looks more like a warehouse, with everything from sofas to fridges housed within tall shelving units.

The Fastvinic cafe, by interior designer Alfons Tost, also accommodates a bar, televisions, storage boxes and potted plants on its full-height shelves.

A glazed wall encloses the cafe kitchen so that customers can see their sandwiches being prepared.

Bathrooms are located in the basement and feature washbasins shaped like shopping baskets.

Other interesting Barcelona eateries include a cafe with a bar under the stairs and a cocktail bar made of doors with a door made of cupboards.

Photography is by Eugeni Pons.

Here’s some more information from Tost:

Fastvinic was born as a environmental and sustainable project, as well as getting a functional and defuse space where the client could flow around the space enjoying the self-service concept.

The space has two levels, the ground floor with kitchen and dinning-room and the underground with bathrooms and service office.

On the ground floor we find a perimetral element, a “mecano shelves” resoling the requirements of each space; sits on the dinning-room, bar on the corridor, support for the wine and recycling machines and the higher part of the shelves that are supporting the plants referring the compromise with the nature and helping the regeneration of the oxygen.

All the elements are designed to be recycled and dismantled.

The kitchen, located on the entrance it´s been designed as a domestic space because of the colors and the materials, and has the intention to work like a window-shopping where the client before choose the menu could enjoy watching the domestic process of the kitchen.

On the underground, we find two big elements covered with pine wood making the service areas.

We find the sustainability in all the levels; on the materials, eco, woods FSC (from under control forest), adhesive free of volatile carcinogenic… we recover all the grey water of the energetic waste.

All the lighting of the space is with Leeds, electrical appliance… even the final product that we serve to the client. The packaging is also 100% compostable.

The graphic design of Dani Buch and Judit Prat are “human-ingredients” with Catalan attitudes (showing him selves as a “sardanes” and “castellers”), claiming the Km 0 concept: proximity of the product.

Interior Designer: Alfons Tost Interiorisme (Alfons Tost)

Contributors: Montse Hernando, Isabel Figueras, Mariona Espinet i Cristina Cirera.

See also:

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Hatched by Outofstock	Rosa’s by Gundry & Ducker	Restaurant Praq by Tjep