Open
Every now and then we are approached and asked to tackle a dream brief. ‘Open’ London’s first 24-hour venue was just such a project. Designed to drive awareness of the new licensing regulations this project had unlimited budget, a dramatic location and a completely open brief to create something truly special.
The brief: The aim of the restaurant interior design project was to take a showcase central London site, consider the possibilities offered by 24-hr licensing and envisage a restaurant interior creative treatment to attract customers throughout the day or night.
The restaurant interior design solution: We created the Open brand, and a proposed new ultra cool central London venue in association with, and sponsored by the Guardian newspaper. The environment was divided into a series of atmospheric interlinked zones connected by a dynamic ‘breathing’ light sculpture designed to pull guests through from one fantastic memorable experience to another. A showcase for the best of what’s on in London.
The result: When the restaurant interior design concept was launched in the press it generated a huge amount of media interest and helped to fuel peoples imagination about the potential of 24 hour licensed venues. A publicity stunt that changed peoples preconceptions and challenged convention.
Mote Restaurant
If judged on location alone then The National Trust is sitting on potentially the best restaurant chain in the world! With some of the most historic and inspirational sites across the British Isles The National Trust decided to create an initial series of destination dining experiences at some of their most prestigious properties.
The brief, Restaurant interior design: Create a restaurant experience that brings to life the Trust’s brand personality, expresses its values and blends the best of contemporary design with traditional materials, attention to detail and local produce. This was to be no ‘cookie cutter’ project; each restaurant needed to be tailor-made to suit the locality and sympathetic to its environment.
The solution: From initial design concepts to final build ‘i-am’ planned, project managed and created ‘The Mote Restaurant’; a new build restaurant that offers visitors traditional English fayre cooked from the very best local ingredients by an outstanding chef all within a unique interior that reflected the adjacent medieval manor house.
The result: Since opening to great acclaim The Mote restaurant has now been trading successfully at Ightham Mote in Kent for the last two years and forms part of The National Trust’s five format catering strategy as devised by ‘i-am’.
Metropolis
The American concept of selling property ‘off plan’ is relatively new to the UK and was pioneered on this side of the Atlantic by Metropolis. Their vision was the creation of an ultra-cool high-end urban property brand and the launch of a central location to ‘retail’ their developments.
The brief: Howard Crocker, MD of Metropolis knows how to write a design brief! “I want you to create the coolest property brand in the world, I don’t want anything that’s ever been seen or done before and I want the very best of everything. Oh and I want you to create a ‘property experience’ in central London that feels like you’re shopping at an Armani store.”
The solution: ‘i-am’ created a dynamic new mark, visual language and brand personality with a global big city feel, launching Metropolis as a property brand that looked, talked and behaved as a lifestyle brand that understood its customers aspirations and helped them to live their dreams. ‘Metropolis One’ was born: A unique destination where clients could browse virtual reality fly-throughs of apartments, create customised interiors, sip Champagne and then sign on the dotted line... The result: Metropolis genuinely broke the mould in residential property sales and created the current trend for stylish property brands that sell a lifestyle as well as just bricks and mortar.
Sri Thai
The Restaurant and Pub group Noble House had recently acquired the Sri Siam restaurant chain and wanted a bar and restaurant design to re-brand the business to reflect a more explicitly Thai experience. The re-naming and new restaurant and pub branding was designed to create awareness of the restaurant and pub brand before it was expanded across the UK.
The brief, Bar and restaurant design: ‘i-am’ were asked to create a restaurant and pub design brand personality that would draw strongly on traditional Thai culture while breaking down the misconceptions about Thai cooking and allowing it to appeal to a broader customer base. The solution: ‘i-am’ created ‘Sri Thai’ a completely new bar and restaurant design brand with a more focused personality. The family of branded elements included fascias, menus and interior images that captured the essence of Thai lifestyle.
The result: The concept was successfully tested at the Sri Thai restaurant in Soho before being implemented across other locations throughout the UK.