Eatery’s concept was quite transparent and unique when we came to its realization. The presence of various cuisine stations and the interior setup that consists of industrial roots and a Scandinavian touch, the concrete walls, exposed beams, pipes, pillars and French contemporary hints. Our challenge was set; we needed to make this all work together in harmony and for each cuisine tailored to compliment one another in their setup. Whilst dealing with the actual space of the venue hosting this idea. Where there was difficulty for natural light to reach the depth of this long rectangular shaped space. All these constraints and challenges helped in reaching clever and aesthetically pleasing architectural solutions.

The skylight and tree located at the heart of eatery were planted to create and enable natural light to reach venues' depth, and making an emphasis on the importance of the presence of nature in our everyday lives. This is also where the seating would take place turning it into the main source of life at eatery.

The environmental factor was also another concern to us. It was taken into consideration whiles designing eatery’s interior, to consume less energy as possible. Creating the skylight made it easier for allowing more natural light and better ventilation. The reuse of material such wood and unwanted kitchen itinerary was put work by using them in the doors of the toilets and the sink basins as well as the corrugated sheets as walls.

The layout of the stations was designed back to back and side by side, to maintain equilibrium amongst the stations making them dependent on one another to work. We decided to place the popular pizza oven station at the farthest end creating the perfect solution to attracting customers in. the layout of the stations are set to suit the customers needs, if it’s a quick coffee on the go, or a three course meal. Complimenting this tact is the furniture, closer to the door you’ll find small tables and chairs, the farther in you go the bigger the chairs and wider tables making more comfortable for a longer dining experience.

Not only do you get a wide variety of cuisines but also at eatery you get to learn how to cook too, in their cooking school program. This was yet another challenge we needed to deal with, making sure that each station was spatially equipped to host its students. This was done by splitting the space into zones and maintaining a blurred boundary that separates each station subtly.  

Photographer , Nour EL Refai