UAN BURGER

UAN is Ningbo’s newest burger joint that recently opened in Jinzhou district. The client’s existing eateries have made them well-known in Ningbo as a quality bakery. The site they selected was in a commercial area with good lunch time traffic, so to complement the bakery the client wanted to launch simple and delicious handmade burgers using their fresh baked burger buns.

A smaller sized venue, heavily focused on quality production, the direction for the interior design was inspired by workshops. We played with industrial motifs, such as lighting and heavy-duty materials, using the layout and cabinetry configuration to expose the inner workings of the kitchen.

The interior is divided into two separate zones - the commercial bakery, and a customer space with a cosy hot kitchen and seating area. We wanted the working areas to be open and transparent, creating a casual and friendly interaction between staff and customers. We did away with menu boards so that diners can order with the chef directly to customise their burger. We custom-designed the cabinetry into more modular units with legs that sit raised above the ground, this reduced the visual divide between kitchen staff and guests. We designed trestle table-style legs for the cabinets referencing the popularity of this style throughout workshops and studios. While the bakery had to be separated with a glazed wall for licencing and operation requirements, we emphasised the continuation between both spaces by using the kitchen wall tiles in the customer area and extending teal tone flooring from the customer space into the kitchen.

The central ‘workshop table’ creates an informal dining area for customers to grab a quick bite over lunch. Constructed from ply, steel and wired glass the table features recesses for holding sauces and other condiments. Throughout the design process, we tried to reveal rather than conceal fixings and bolts on tables and cabinetry, playing into the imperfection and functionality of workshop furniture. The introduction of the coloured vinyl flooring was influenced by the client's fun and playful branding. We wanted to offset the seriousness of the space by introducing colour, the vinyl providing a highly durable yet contemporary feel. We kept materials raw and simple, balancing the harsher cool blues of the metals, glass and tiles alongside the warm softness of ply.

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PROJECT INFORMATION

Project Name: Ningbo UAN

Design Firm: hcreates interior design

Website: https://www.hcreates.design/

Contact Email: info@hcreates.design

Principle Designer: Hannah Churchill

Design Team: Alex Davies, Heshan Li,  Changwei Zhou

Project Location: 1811 Ningchuan Road, Jinzhou District, Ningbo Zhejiang

Completion Year: 2023

Gross Built Area: 120sqm

Photo Credits: Brian Chua