Designing interiors for dining was the focus of the sixth Artichoke Night School, entitled Food and Design, held at Space Furniture in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane on 12 October. Following a welcome from Architecture Media editorial director Cameron Bruhn, Artichoke editor Penny Craswell spoke about the importance of food and eating in design, and vice versa.
Considering people spend much of their time eating food (as well as cooking, growing and thinking about food) and that we eat in so many different places, (such as restaurants, bars and cafes, our homes, workplaces and more), it’s not surprising that much of design has a connection to food and eating. The diversity of the topic made for rich pickings for our three speakers.
Artichoke Night School No. 6 at the Space showroom in Brisbane.
Image: Lara Masselos
First up was Rowena Cornwell of Coop Creative, who started the evening with a bang by talking about the sensual side of eating. Following this, she spoke about how the home dining room has become part of the public dining experience, while the kitchen is on show for guests who eat in open plan spaces, creating a reinvented space: the “butler’s pantry,” where those with large houses can hide the mess of the kitchen.
Geoff Bainbridge, part owner of Fabio Ongarato Design and Grill’d Healthy Hamburgers, followed by speaking about how he had built Grill’d as a brand, how it has changed, how it is developing its audience and how design has played a part in the business.
Byron George of Russell & George was the final speaker, sharing his own experiences of designing restaurants and cafes, often with very little money but with plenty of ingenuity. He described how working in restaurants when he was studying had helped him understand the inside workings of venues and how to make them function better.
The lively panel discussion included the role of the communal dining table, and how getting the right client is as important as getting the right design studio.
Special thanks goes to Space for donating The Cartier Collection as a door prize. This Artichoke Night School was the second in an ongoing collaboration with Space. A Melbourne event is set to take place in early 2012.
The Artichoke Night School series is presented by Artichoke magazine in partnership with Space Furniture. Night School No. 6 was held on 12 October 2011 at the Space Brisbane showroom.
