Image Credit : Andrew Worssam
Project Overview
Top Impression bakery in Rhodes articulates a compelling narrative between its industrial past, and notion of Synaesthesia. The design curates a palette of juxtaposing raw and clean materials, sparking a visceral feeling that connects deeply with memory and culture, much like the aroma of freshly baked bread.
Project Commissioner
Project Creator
Project Brief
“Good food is music you can taste, colour you can smell”.- Chef Gusteau, Ratatouille
Top Impression embodies this idea of Synaesthesia, where the senses cross over, where one can taste shapes and one can hear colour . The design approach executes this narrative through the use of stripped back raw textured materials with monotonous grey tones that serve to intensify the sensory experience without being excessive. The selected palette pays homage to the site’s industrial past whilst emphasising key areas of the interior.
Located in Rhodes Central, where the boundaries between the indoor and outdoor settings are blurred, Top Impression conveys the same notion through the alcove-like ‘outdoor’ seating. The curved mesh wall appears to be an extension of the shopfront frame, an illusion that unifies the interior to the exterior. Borrowing cues from galleries, the overall spatial planning revolves around the monolithic plinths and intersecting geometries that form an alluring pastry display. People were to hover around the central pastry display as if celebrating a piece of art and in turn celebrating the site’s history.
Project Innovation/Need
Often, bakeries rarely tell a story between the bread, the space and the customer. However, Top Impression presents an indirect way of engagement where metal and raw stone textures not only reflect the site’s industrial history, but allows the audience to unconsciously contribute to the narrative of the space. Their reflection ghosts across the surface of steel and mimics the vigorous textured render finish of the adjoining walls. This enables a sensory encounter that engages people to space and the history in a contemporary way.
Design Challenge
Top Impression is located in a shopping centre and the only on-the go bakery on site. It is a new precinct that is adjacent to the train station; those coming from and to work have access to services such as food. Hence, having a bakery where the pastry display is only at the centre of the store offers a direct and efficient access for anyone who is in need for a quick replenishment. This accessible layout is suitable for an array of customers and does not require much personal assistance. However, some of the major concerns of this layout included being able to translate a museum-esque circulation within a tight space. It was essential that the materials chosen were impactful without overwhelming the interior. Naturally, materials that were more monotonous in colour and complex in texture such as raw rocky textured tiles, mesh, stainless steel and textured render were selected to add dimension but remain clean.
Sustainability
The aim was to allow sustainability to be an intrinsic part of the design practice, as not just an added element. By using hard wearing and recyclable materials, it naturally allowed for a timeless and durable outcome. Materials such as polished concrete flooring and stainless steel respectively, suppress the urge to change over time. These materials also give a timeless design where it will last through many changes. Vie studio chooses quality over quantity, and simplicity.
Interior Design - Hospitality - On the Go
This award celebrates innovative and creative building interiors, with consideration given to space creation and planning, furnishings, finishes, aesthetic presentation and functionality. Consideration also given to space allocation, traffic flow, building services, lighting, fixtures, flooring, colours, furnishings and surface finishes.
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