brief: interior design scheme for student restaurant

The University of Surrey's high academic standards attract students from all over the world. Students are also drawn to its thriving social scene and the on-site cafes and restaurants play an important role in providing food and refreshments as well as places to meet and relax. Design CLD were given the opportunity to re-design Seasons restaurant, the centre piece of the on-site food offer. It was a mouthwatering chance to create a truly innovative restaurant that would become a destination on campus and strengthen the university's undergraduate appeal.

Seasons is the largest restaurant on site, however, it is underused and its on site competitors are attracting more customers. It is capable of feeding over 400 diners at one sitting and this sheer size created one of it's major problems giving it the feel of an airport lounge. Another issue is that diners tend to congregate near to the main entrance making it harder for other customers to move deeper into the restaurant. It can not be permanently divided into smaller areas because the client needs the flexibility to transform the restaurant into a wedding and conference venue at various times.

Our objective was to win new customers by developing a lively and vibrant environment that would make the venue a natural place to meet and eat. We focused on the three key areas of branding, servery layout and intelligent space planning.

Re-branding the restaurant

We suggested that the restaurant re-launch with a new name - The Gallery. This name suggests a place to sit, catch breath, and watch the world go by. It also sets an appropriate classical tone for its alternative uses as a wedding and conference venue.

Improving the servery layout

We re-planned the servery to maximise customer spend. This meant designing the circulation routes and presentation of food in such a way as to minimise queues and maximise impulse purchases. We mapped out routes through the area and addressed the needs of different types of customer, for example, allowing space for people making quick purchases to bypass slower moving queues for hot food.

Intelligent space planning

We turned our attention to the restaurant seating layout and developed a plan which encouraged customers to sit in highly visible areas that could be seen from outside the restaurant. This helps to create a sense of activity and peer endorsement that will draw more customers in.

We addressed the issue of the potentially cavernous space by suggesting a variety of furniture and lighting arranged to create smaller more intimate zones that would draw different types of users into different areas of the restaurant. We proposed that the highly visible areas by the windows and main entrance are given small tables to attract single users and couples. Groups are encouraged to move deeper into the restaurant by the careful positioning of larger tables. Curtains and carefully placed screens help to divide up the space whilst keeping it flexible.

By studying the wider picture of how the restaurant positioned its offer within the campus we showed the client how the restaurant could offer a better service in a relaxed environment and by so doing compete effectively and win new business.

Above left: visual and plan for lounge area seating.
Above right: part of the plan for traffic through servery.