BRIEF:
We were to design a cafe/restaurant for a chosen demographic in an existing building on Edward Street, Brisbane. The restaurant was to utilise slow design principles - Reveal, Expand, Reflect, Engage, Particpate and Evolve. The end result was to be a sustainable urban playground that provides quality opportunity for rich sensory consumption, refleciton and connection to the heart of Brisbane - an antidote for the fast life of the city worker.
The cafe I chose to create is called Harvest. Harvest aims to educate guests in the process of slow food and slow design by inviting them to grow their own food for consumption. This is done by creating a Planting Room, where guests are able to come and plant their chosen produce in a small garden box and take it home to grow. Once the growing process is complete, they can return to Harvest with their homegrown produce and have a meal prepared for them. Harvest also caters for guests who are not able to take a garden box home, or simply walk in from the street. The restaurant has a 'Farmers Market', where the other guests and staff have brought in their excess homegrown vegetables.
INSPIRATION:
The inspiration for Harvest Restaurant was very ecologically friendly and sustainable. This is seen through the warm material choices such as recycled timber and incorporated green walls.
JOURNEY THROUGH THE SPACE:
Upon returning to prepare the meal, the guest re-enters the space through the front entrance. I’ve changed these doors to tall, bi-fold doors just to open up the space a bit more. Bringing the outside in to get that feeling of being in a garden. As they walk through the door they’re greeted with the racking area where they are able to store their planter box for meal preparation. To the right of the entrance is the farmers market space and the large communal dining area. I’ve made the dining area communal to encourage reflective conversation between guests regarding their growing process. Above the dining table are hanging vine-line plants to give the ‘outdoorsy’ feel. Adjacent to the dining area is the semi-open kitchen, inside the kitchen is staff only, however guests are able to sit and watch their meal being prepared if they wanted to. At the rear of the building is the fire escape, elevator and feature staircase. The staircase walls have large vertical gardens filled with numerous herbs for guests to use with their meals.
Downstairs is the Planting Room, this space is where guests come to choose and create their garden boxes. Guests move to the wall boxes that house the different types of seeds and then to the two large workspace tables with necessary tools in the centre of the room. Also downstairs are the male, female and P.W.D bathrooms and the restaurant storage. Some of the walls in the space are painted with a chalkboard paint to encourage participation from the guests. They’re able to write down growing tips, inspirational messages and recipes for other guests.
