mdolla: 08/18/13

Nando’s by Blacksheep

Blacksheep Interior Architects and Design were commissioned to design a new location in Ashford, UK for the restaurant chain Nando’s.

Description

South African heritage meets New York loft style

Having previously carried out two refurbishments for the restaurant chain Nando’s (in Soho and Southampton), Blacksheep was commissioned to create a site-specific design for its new branch in Ashford, Kent. The brief was to design a concept space that steered the client away from the traditional Nando’s design and put a Blacksheep signature style and twist on the well known and loved chicken restaurant. The client wanted to attract a more mid market customer base and move away from a mass market centred business structure.

The client had a clear idea of audience, however the challenge was that the location was in a remote leisure park that already attracts a certain type of cliental and has a variety of competing restaurants in the vicinity. Secondly, the building, formerly one half of a nightclub, was a vast, cavernous shell, which had too much space – the height was reduced from 10m to 7m to form a more workable area, this was accomplished by a suspended wooden lattice that created a boundary around the dining area and low ceiling lights to create a sense of intimacy.

Blacksheep’s first priority was to attract passing trade. This was achieved by opening up the frontage and creating an eye-catching façade using diagonal strips of oak accompanied by metal outdoor furniture with Iroko table-tops. Taking into account the scale of the interior – 10m high ceilings and a total area of 380 sq m – Blacksheep decided to give the restaurant a New York loft feel, combining wood and metalwork accents with a pared-down aesthetic. To make the space feel more intimate, Blacksheep installed a raised platform with booth seating and bespoke timber latticework, as well as designing huge custom-made light-shades.

Blacksheep also created a large-scale bespoke artwork, in the style of Southern African Ndebele tribe, using thousands of painted wooden dowels. Bold and iconic, it hangs in pride of place as you enter the restaurant.

Design: Blacksheep Interior Architects and Design

Tahoe City Transit Center by WRNS Studio

WRNS Studio designed a transit center for Tahoe City in California.

Description

At the turn of the last century, Lake Tahoe became a scenic holiday destination. The region has since become a year-round residential community as well as a popular recreational retreat for the roughly 11.5 million people living within a four-hour driving distance. As a result, traffic congestion, inadequate parking, and pollution have begun to threaten Tahoe’s natural resources. To encourage greater reliance on public transportation, the Placer County Department of Public Works commissioned WRNS Studio to design an intermodal transit center in Tahoe City, California.

The Tahoe City Transit Center incorporates surface parking for 130 cars, a bus loop for six regional buses, and a transit facility with two restrooms, administrative space, built-in bike lockers, and an enclosed meeting area for up to 40 people. Configuring the facility as a bus loop, with buses loading and unloading on both sides, minimized the facility’s footprint as much as possible. Shaped like a boat, with long wooden slats along the underside, the roof is supported by a few stone columns to allow views of the landscape to pass underneath. The roof is designed to hold snow up to 250 pounds a foot. A snow melt system around the edge of the roof gradually melts the snow, and a rainwater harvesting system collects the water in gutters, stores it in a 4,000-gallon cistern, and reuses it for irrigation and toilet flushing.

The site layout incorporates existing trees and established walking and cycling paths. Sustainable landscape strategies include pervious pavement in the parking areas, use of local materials, and low-water native planting and vegetation. Although modern in form, the building references its context by bringing together two of the areas predominant materials, Sierra granite and western red cedar.

The building conserves energy in a number of ways. Laminated solar cells are integrated into the roof, supplying most of the facility’s peak load. Operable windows and a clerestory facilitate natural ventilation. The broad roof eaves provide shade in the warm months; in the cold months, the angle of the roof allows direct sunlight, filtered by the trees, to illuminate the narrow floor plate. Thermally massive walls, high-performance insulated glazing, and radiant heating further reduce energy consumption. A series of bronze plaques embedded in the granite walls explains the transit center’s sustainable elements, helping visitors to understand their connection to the natural environment.