Usually, you walk into a restaurant, you sit, you eat, and hopefully everything goes smoothly. You shouldn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. Good restaurant design is meant to be subtle, not flashy, and help a restaurant operate to the best of its ability.
Take East Hampton Sandwich Co., for instance. I was talking to Royce Ring of Plan B Group the other day, and he was telling me how his design company purposefully placed different tiles in the queueing area to give people an idea of where to stand. Chaos would otherwise ensue. If you’re curious to hear more about this topic, you’re in luck. Jeff Whittington, a KERA producer, is moderating a panel discussion (“Setting the Table: Designing the Ultimate Dining Experience”) for the Dallas Architecture Forum on March 5 at 6:30 p.m. He’ll be leading experts from the dining and design field (Kelly Mitchell of Mitchell Garman, William Baker of Jones Baker, Teresa Gubbins of CultureMap, and Tristan Simon of Consilient Restaurants) in a lively conversation about what separates successful restaurants from others.
Jump for the press release.
“Setting the Table: Designing the Ultimate Dining Experience”
Jeff WHITTINGTON; Moderator
Producer, KERA
Tuesday, 6:30 pm
5 March 2013
Dallas has a large, vibrant, and ever-changing restaurant scene. What goes into designing a space that excites the visual and tangible senses of the restaurant-going public? Where does design best compliment cuisine and what are the trends to watch for and avoid?
About the Dallas Architecture Forum
The Dallas Architecture Forum is a not-for-profit civic organization that brings leading architectural thought leaders from around the world to speak in Dallas and also fosters important local dialogue about the major issues impacting our urban environment. The Forum was founded in 1996 by some of Dallas’ leading architects, business, cultural and civic leaders, and it continues to benefit from active support and guidance from these citizens. The Forum fulfills its mission of providing a continuing and challenging public discourse on architecture and urban design in – and for – the Dallas area. The Dallas Architecture Forum’s members include architects, design professionals, students and educators, and a broad range of civic-minded individuals and companies intent to improve the urban environment in North Texas. The Forum has been recognized nationally with an AIA Collaboration Achievement Award for its strategic partnerships with other organizations focused on architecture, urban planning and the arts. For more information on the Forum, visit www.DallasArchitectureForum.org <http://www.DallasArchitectureForum.org> <http://www.dallasarchitectureforum.org/> .
Among the over 130 speakers who have addressed the Forum’s Lecture Series are Shigeru Ban, Brad Cloepfil, Diller + Scofidio, Peter Eisenman, Michael Graves, Daniel Libeskind, Thomas Phifer, Rafael Vinoly, Juhani Pallasmaa, AIA Gold Medal Winner Peter Bohlin, and regional architects David Lake and Ted Flato. Pritzker Prize winners speaking to the Forum have been Kazuyo Sejima, Rafael Moneo, Thom Mayne, Rem Koolhaas and Norman Foster (the latter two in collaboration with the ATT Performing Arts Center). Other speakers for the Forum have been leading designers Calvin Tsao, Andrée Putman, and Karim Rashid; landscape architect Michael Van Valkenburgh; and National Trust President Emeritus Richard Moe. Important critics, authors and patrons who have spoken to the Forum include Emily Pulitzer, Terence Riley, Pulitzer Prize winners Robert Campbell and Blair Kamin, Aaron Betsky, and the late David Dillon.
The Forum organizes and presents an annual series of Panels—local, informal, open, and offered free of charge as a public service to the community—led by a moderator who brings a subject of local importance along with comments by participating panelists. Moderators and Panelists have also come from both other Texas cities as well as from national institutions that were connected with particular Panel subjects. Panels offer attendees the opportunity to participate in creating discourse. Important topics addressed in Panels in recent years include: “Thoughts on the Dallas Comprehensive Plan”; “The Kimbell Expansion: A Discussion”; “Filling Out the Dallas Arts District”; and “Re-envisioning the Trinity”.
