INTERIOR DESIGN & ENVIRONMENTS 4
Statement on Learning Experience
My overall experience through out this course has been one of great growth. I feel like I had already developed the necessary skills to create the design documentation of an interior environment, I just needed that further push to understand how to work with a client brief and then creatively and realistically extend it into a visually engaging and functional space. I am proud of the level of research I undertook in this project around the materials used within the space and how they work within a commercial setting.
I enjoyed the way the course was structured to encourage us to explore different elements of hospitality design within the context of our own space. This allowed me to think more deeply about significant elements within the design and undertake further research in elements that I may not have otherwise developed. Throughout this course my understanding of a space has shifted from something that is full of lots of little elements to viewing it as a holistic unit where everything compliments each other. Sometimes less really is more.
I am glad that this IDE course has once again encouraged us to explore how the Australian Standards are implemented in a design as I feel that has extended on my previous knowledge and given me a tangible skill set that will apply directly to work in the industry. I’m incredibly proud of what I have achieved within this course and I feel like the journal demonstrates my development throughout.
3637QCA
Sophie Dye
MODULE JOURNAL
WEEKLY CONTENT EXPLORATION & PROGRESS
Module One: Hospitality Design - An Overview
THE CLIENT
Oz Thai, Palm Beach
Oz Thai has operated as a takeaway restaurant in Palm Beach, Gold Coast since January of 2008. They offer their clientele an Australian twist on the traditional and authentic Thai cuisine from both the city of Bangkok and the countryside surrounding it.
The restaurant is owned by Darren and Oa Badger. Growing up in the outer suburbs of Bangkok, Thailand, Oa learnt both the Bangkok and the country styles of cooking. Her dishes are infused with the flavours of both styles, with her taking extra care to ensure that she gets them just right. Oa ads personalised touches to her meals to adjust dishes to your own liking and to suit your individual palette.
Since opening, Darren has extended the restaurant to include a dining area which seats 18-20 patrons. On a busy evening, like Saturday nights, there will be seven staff in the restaurant. They’ll three or four chefs and three wait staff pitching in the help where needed. At the moment, what makes this restaurant so welcoming is the staff themselves. During prep time from 4:30 PM to 5:00 PM laughter can be heard from the kitchen as the staff crack jokes and chat in Thai. Their language and good humour makes the restaurant feel like you’re being welcomed into a family home. The setting is a casual one with most staff dressed in black and grey with no set uniform.
THE SITE
1/1389 Gold Coast Highway, Palm Beach QLD 4221
Over the past decade Palm Beach has shifted from being one of the lower socio-economic coastal suburbs to an affluent and bustling strip with an up-and-coming foodie scene. The southern end of the Gold Coast highway in the suburb is populated with restaurants and construction sites where new apartment blocks are being built. There are three other Thai restaurants in this area, just five minutes’ drive south of Oz Thai. There is also another six Thai restaurants ten minutes north of Oz Thai in Burleigh Heads, and another five minutes west in West Burleigh.
Oz Thai sits at the northern end of Palm Beach, bordering Tallebudgera, where they form a part of a small commercial strip including four restaurants and cafes, a bottle shop, hairdresser, and a model car shop which sit amidst a heavily residential part of the suburb.
The majority of the restaurant's clients order takeaway and then sit and wait in the limited seating areas in the main walkway of the restaurant or out on the footpath. Their patrons are predominantly independent, mature people, with some older couples and the occasional young family, which is
consistent with the overall demographic of Palm Beach.
Currently, the restaurant provides limited facilities for people with young children. As most independent and mature people are ordering takeaway, the restaurant design needs to be modified to cater for the older couples and the young families. This means that activities such as colour books need to be put in place for the children and the floor needs to be resurfaced to ensure that it is flat and safe to walk on for both the staff and the patrons.
Site Measure
The fixed elements can be seen infilled in black on the ‘As Built Base Floorplan’. These include all brick walls and the external walls of the dining area as they sit on the site boundary, additionally there is a pole from a billboard above the restaurant which comes through the dining room that cannot be removed.
Module Two: Commercial Kitchen Design
Design Mapping
Circulation Diagram
Public & Private Space
Equipment Schedule
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Module Three: Emerging Technologies
Integrating Technology
The technology in Oz Thai has not been updated much since it opened in 2008. Other than the addition of pay pass, all that this take away and dine in restaurant relies on is the cash register, eftpos machine and land line phone. Oz Thai’s online presence is limited to an unclaimed google business page, a website and a Facebook page.
One of the things that makes this restaurant what it is, is the interaction with the gorgeous staff so introducing a digital ordering system wouldn’t suit this business. However, given its location in the heart of Palm Beach, taking advantage of systems like Uber Eats and Menu Log would be a great opportunity for Oz Thai. With most of the other Thai restaurants in the area on these applications, Oz Thai should remain competitive and claim their own turf in their gap between other Thai restaurants.
Design Matrix
Bubble Diagram
Module Four: Sustainability in Hospitality
Sustainability in Design
Takeaway Consumables
Running a restaurant that produces a lot of takeaway meals means lots of single use items pass through Oz Thai's doors, from containers and cutlery to plastic bags and straws. But with most modern consumers looking to reduce their eco footprint, this items can make them think twice about their purchases.
Recyclable consumables are an ethical alternative to takeaway containers, and an option that could easily be introduced at Oz Thai to replace their takeaway packaging.
Companies like Vegware offer sustainable and affordable alternatives to takeaway packaging with a range wide enough to suit Oz Thai's menu of curries, rice and noodle dishes, and soups. Additionally, companies also offer in-house branding and design so the takeaway pieces can suit an individual businesses overall look and feel.
Sustainable Building Materials
Axon cladding by James Hardie has been selected for elements of the interior and exterior of this project. Axon cladding is a timber look cladding made from fibre cement which means it is incredibly durable and fire safe. Axon cladding is made from Silica which is found in sand a quartz and is the second most common material on the planet.
In addition to this, all the selections used within this design are manufactured by Australian owned companies to ensure the production process adheres to our countries environmental expectations and guidelines. This also assists in building an economically sustainable economy with resources, jobs and money being kept locally.
Eco & Recycled Products
All of the existing dining tables within Oz Thai were constructed by the owners. Whilst they are not all quite cohesive they are still in great shape. As part of my design concept I am recommending that the table tops are are recycled and the legs replaced in order to ensure that they are all the same height and that they tie in with the proposed scheme.
RETURN BRIEF
ASSESSMENT I
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Module Five: Joinery in Hospitality
Bar Sketch & Elevation
Elevation at 1:20 at A3
Module Six: Critique In Class
CONCEPTUAL DESIGN
ASSESSMENT II
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Module Seven: Lighting and Food
Case Study
Layer, a design studio by Benjamin Hubert, has designed a light fitting that tells a story. The light fitting is designed to mimic the cocoon of a silkworm in its self wrapping process. The cocoon is made from a fibrous polymer material that is sprayed over a lightweight steel structure. The material structure of the design takes forms that are traditionally industrial and softens them with the light colour palette and softer materials, similar to how the silkworm spins it's softer exterior around a harder frame.
The lights have been designed in a variety of shapes and sizes to allow them to be assembled together to create statement lighting that tells a story. The launch of this lighting collection expanded further upon this concept by creating a space that is enveloped by the light fixture, as if you were standing within it. This demonstrates how a design can be inspired by a simple element and then expanded upon so create a more holistic experience for the user that encourages them to connect with it.
The concept is a simple expression of a cocoon and it shows how subtle elements can be incorporated to pay homage to a projects location, history or story.
Lighting Selections
The anemone and urchin light fixtures by Zaffero is heavily inspiring my concept for Oz Thai. As it is located in a coastal suburb but does not have many coastal elements within the business and the brand, I wanted to find a piece that gave a subtle nod to the ocean whilst also providing a modern take on the traditional Thai lantern. In addition to this, my hope is to further incorporate this fixture within the space (similar to Benjamin Hubert's light fixture launch) by turning the pole in the centre of the restaurant into a larger feature that reflects the design elements of the anemone and the urchin. This would be achieved by wrapping the pole in LED lights and then creating a wire frame around the pole to support a sheer fabric cover.
In addition to this feature lighting, it is also proposed the the existing light fixtures are swapped out with down lights in order to create a more discrete lighting option. The down lights selected can be changed from warm light to cool light depending on the style of patrons for the evening. Warmer light is more ambient for more intimate dining however cooler light may fit better if there are larger parties dining in. The down lights can also be dimmed. This means they could be bright during prep and set up time but can then be dimmed later, creating a more ambient space for patrons.
Module Eight: Hospitality Trends
Hospitality Trends
Wandering Cooks
Wandering cooks is an incubator for ethical hospitality start ups who are still trying to find their feet in the industry. The creative hub is located in a warehouse in South Brisbane with commercial kitchen spaces, dining areas, a bar, event space and community hub.
The brain child of Angela Hurst, a qualified chef with a PhD in food ethics, Wandering Cooks assists start ups by connecting them with ethical farmers and producers, mentoring them and providing them with a bricks and mortar spaces to prepare and serve their food. They also assist start ups with business, finances and marketing and provide an audience for their creations. This unique collective has an ever changing menu, with patrons being served unique menus by whoever is operating the kitchen that day. This unique approach to hospitality has allowed 40 start ups to learn, grow and flourish.
Not only is Wander Cooks mentoring chefs, they also run cooking classes and events for the wider public with the goal of transforming the food landscape of Brisbane to become one that values and nourishes ethical food producers.
Wandering Cooks extends their social responsibility beyond their mentees and patrons and regularly engage with the local community through socially conscious events and musings on their blog (which is actually a blog that I would read).
With their ever changing calendar and menu, Wandering Cooks are successfully reshaping hospitality and showing that dining out can be more than just a meal on a plate in a restaurant.
Module Nine: Materials in Hospitality
FF+E Schedule
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Module Ten & Eleven: Client Presentations and Critique
FINAL PRESENTATION
ASSESSMENT III
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Poster
Printed at A1
Materials Board
Specification details in FF+E
3D Perspectives
Renders
Commercial Kitchen Plan
Floorplan
