< PreviousSpecial Report commercialinteriordesign.com July 2022 40 T he battle between building a restaurant that can feature and compete in design awards while ensuring Capex is capped at a reasonable ROI for eager investors and finding the right build partner to bring it to life on a budget has been a challenge for the booming 'designer' F&B industry. I coined the phrase 'designer restaurants' with full awareness of myself having advocated design over budgets numerous times to certain brands. I believe concept is king, followed by everything else serving its brilliant execution and operation. Wisdom is in ensuring we bring design and concept to life in interiors, well executed with quality build, delivered on time within budgets to operate profitably. Synergising design The cost of design and build takes up the highest percentage of budget allocation to Capex. Around 60% could be assigned to this crucial part of launching a restaurant. As designs become more fluid and creative, with multiple 'designers' mushrooming up, promising trendy designs at rock bottom prices, the struggle is not just to safeguard true creativity and architectural genius but to stop this over duplication of similar look and feel concepts. It's extremely important to choose your build partner and contractors with caution and wisdom as multiple companies claim to be able to deliver expectations. While we have some extremely capable contracting forms that are bringing large venues to life brilliantly, the real crunch is the mid-level casual dining sector. Due to budget restraints, choices are few and most contractors that take on such projects do not synergise quality with prices as effectively as one would hope. I recommend BOQs be thoroughly examined for apple-to-apple comparisons as most errors happen in expectations not being met when price meets material choices. Also, ensure that your chosen build contractor has experience in restaurant construction as this is a unique industry with multiple technical requirements, as well as commercial approvals, for safety that goes beyond architectural approvals. Inspirations and trends I've always been inspired by history, architecture and building art into brick and mortar. Most creative designs I have directed over the last decade have been influenced by historical and artistic DNA. We see many designs emerging from age- old inspirations of natural elements and historical references. My personal portfolio of favourites from our own turn-key projects and brands we have designed has been Colt Café in Dubai Fashion Avenue. I was inspired by the strength and nobility of the Arabian stallion, equestrian lifestyle, Dubai's unique blend of luxury and hospitality and all of this was brought to life in a resort-style dining space, accessorised with Hermès and built with the materials of a luxury ranch. My earlier project Hamptons Café was inspired by Long Island landscapes and architecture and this is reflected in its wooden beams, nautical textures and expansive large living spaces that one can imagine overlooking crashing waves and sandy shores. F&B design: Trends versus budgets and choosing the right build contractor TREND FOCUS: SAFEGUARDING CREATIVITY IN BOOM TIMES... By Gabrielle F. Mather, CEO & Founder, Restaurant Secrets Inc.Special Report 41 July 2022 commercialinteriordesign.com In our latest project Oii Abu Dhabi, a Southern-European restaurant, we took inspiration from Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain. Materials and textures reflect the rugged landscape of this region and for the culinary impact, we built a gold-clad Santorini-style mocktail bar that depicts the watering hole and social gathering aspect of this region. I believe it's the desire of human expression to give glory to higher awareness and most successful artists will continue to bring their talents to life while remaining commercially viable. A trifecta of design visuals from Colt Gabrielle Mather Restaurant Secrets Inc. Restaurant Secrets Inc. (RSI) is a team of expert restaurant consultants and business Incubators in the UAE that has served over 300 brands since its inception in 2001 by founder Gabrielle Mather, who has has lived across the UK, Singapore and now the UAE.Latest products commercialinteriordesign.com July 2022 42 Photo credit: Natelee CocksLatest products 43 July 2022 commercialinteriordesign.com INSIDE AT NO.9 Latest collection from the homegrown UAE furniture brand Custom No.9 – what's new for 2022 For thousands of years, people have been weaving seagrass. Experts believe the use of seagrass in creating objects could go back as far as 10,000 years and it's latterly had a resurgence as an eco-friendly alternative to plastic. The latest collection from Dubai- based bespoke furniture designer Custom No.9 utilises seagrass to reimagine sisal rug as a headboard. Organic shapes and materials shape the direction of this current range, which retains a calm and contemporary feel. The emphasis on curves and raw finishes is something the homegrown company has become synonymous with, along with "retro minimalism." Woods and dark earthy colours give a warm and inviting feel to cabinets, chairs and sofas, with some pieces evolving from Custom No.9's earlier collections. What hasn't changed is that all the products can be customised to meet the client's needs.Latest products commercialinteriordesign.com July 2022 44 MAJO BED The Majo bed is an adaptation of the brand's signature Majo style, with its low set leg, and solid ashwood curved frame that brings nature into the home. Brooklyn sofa With its highly concentrated feather content, the sofa's base and loose cushion combination offers relaxation that's "cloud-like," says Custom No.9.Latest products 45 July 2022 commercialinteriordesign.com TULUM SISAL HEADBOARD The popular Tulum headboard is reworked with inner panels reimagined and lined with 100% natural seagrass. It fits perfectly with the Majo bed frame. ALIA CABINET A perennial favourite, the playful Alia Arch Shelf now has a big sister, the Alia Arch Cabinet. This handcrafted unit can be styled in a myriad of ways. World view commercialinteriordesign.com July 2022 46 RENOVATING LES RUES Pont de Sè vres by Atelier du Pont Photo credit: Fré dé ric Delangle, Vincent Leroux WORLD VIEW47 July 2022 commercialinteriordesign.com W ith the end of the Second World War, the economies of Western Europe enjoyed a three decade period of spectacular growth. In France, this was referred to as les trente glorieuses – the 30 glorious years. Jonathan Hopkin, a professor of comparative politics at the London School of Economics and Political Science, noted that this prosperity was broadly shared, with consistent growth in living standards for rich and poor alike and the emergence of a broad middle class. This included better housing, with home ownership becoming more common. Built in the 1970s, the Pont de Sè vres is a classic concrete slab-built neighbourhood in Paris, France, dating back to the end of the Glorious Thirties and characterised by its high level of density. It's now undergoing a massive renovation project, with French architects Atelier du Pont tasked with renovating public passageways. Classifi ed as a 'ZUS' Sensitive Urban Area in 1996 – defi ned by the French authorities to be a high-priority target The space includes shopsWorld view commercialinteriordesign.com July 2022 48 for city policy – the plan to redevelop the neighbourhood began in 2008. Priority was given to renovating the public space, specifi cally the Vieux Pont de Sè vres and Aquitaine passageways. Once outside the city limits and next to the old Renault factory, the new Vieux Pont de Sè vres public passageways have become a new entrance to the Trapè ze neighbourhood. Cutting through concrete These covered passageways are the most direct connection between the Pont de Sè vres metro station and the newer Le Trapè ze neighbourhood, built on the site of the old Renault factory. Reconnecting these two parts of the city has been essential to better integrating the concrete slab neighbourhood, which remained disjointed from the surrounding urban fabric. The restructuring of the Vieux Pont de Sè vres and Aquitaine public passageways form a continuity with the redevelopment of the Espace Forum's parking area sitting atop its sports and fi tness facilities, a project delivered by Atelier du Pont in 2013. Digging through an old, above-ground parking structure, cutting through concrete, and rediscovering daylight: the requirements for creating a new public space worthy of the neighbourhood. The old Vieux Pont de Sè vres passageway opens out onto the street of the same name and is located under two apartment blocks with 798 units constructed in 1976 by French architects and urbanists Daniel Badani and Pierre Roux-Dorlu. Originally it was merely a connecting tunnel and access point for the fi re department – anything but a nice, safe pedestrian walkway. The passageway fi rst had to be brought up to code for everyone. An elevator and a larger, airier set of stairs were created. By digging through the concrete, daylight was allowed to enter and views were opened up. Two stepped gardens now fl ank one side of the passageway. Finished with terrazzo and polished concrete, the new and brighter passageway provides a pleasant, safe, and fl uid route with proper spaces for people to contemplate and even take some time to relax. One of the main diffi culties of this worksite was allowing the neighbourhood's daily life to continue throughout the construction. The inhabitants of the two housing blocks remained in their homes and the shops all stayed open during the project. This space is more than just a spatial link; it's a genuine social and economic connector. Labyrinthine In addition to the complex works for the public passageways, the city of Boulogne- Billancourt was very intent on integrating sports activities and shops at either end of the Vieux Pont de Sè vres passageway. What used to be three storeys of a parking garage were opened up to create a formidable sense of interior height. Very early on, the possibility emerged of creating a climbing space that could fully exploit the site's new features. There was one major challenge for The new passageway rediscovers daylight Interiors are left looking very urbanWorld view 49 July 2022 commercialinteriordesign.com them: reuniting the two spaces situated on opposite sides of the passageway to make one single space. In the spirit of suppleness, audacity, and technicity, a tunnel was excavated to connect these spaces and create a truly urban and atypical site for the Arkose climbing group. For several years, Arkose has been developing 'natural, urban climbing lofts' – climbing areas within cities. These spaces are for more than just climbing; these are true urban social spots and lively environments for people to meet and talk, and include a restaurant, bar, shop, fi tness centre, and yoga room. Atelier du Pont created all the interior layouts for this new Arkose complex inspired by bivouacs. The ambiance is warm due to the inclusion of re-purposed or second-hand furniture and natural materials situated within a very urban interior left in its rough state with exposed conduits and concrete walls on which elements can be hooked, hung, or attached. The atypical, labyrinthine confi guration of the space suggests a place to hike through that is punctuated with hints of the natural world. More about the designers Established in 1997, Atelier du Pont is an architecture and interior design fi rm of some 40 professionals, who work alongside the studio's founders, Anne- Cé cile Comar and Philippe Croisier. The studio works on a wide variety of projects, from hotels to facilities, housing, offi ces, private residences, boutiques, and restaurants, in France and abroad. There's now a climbing wall inside SPEC SHEET Client: SPL Val de Seine Amé nagement Client for the climbing complex: Arkose Group Surface area: 970 sq m (passages), 1,097 sq m (activity areas), 1,833 sq m (climbing complex) Cost of the works: €13.8M, pre-tax Project team for the passageway and the activities: Igrec Ingénierie (All-trades engineering and consulting), August (Landscaping) Project team for the climbing complex: SMEF Azur (HVAC and plumbing), Delta fl uides (Electrical) Photographs: Frédéric Delangle, Vincent Leroux An urban social spotNext >