DAB510-1- USERS- Multicultural Cooking School and Food Stall.

Why I Selected the Cooking School.

I selected the multicultural cooking school and food stall over the exercise station, because i believe that it offers more to the site and provides more opportunities in terms of attracting people into the space and activating the parkland. 

The multicultural aspect of the design was also a key factor. This will encourage a wider audience to take part in the classes and assist in increasing community engagement. The node will provide a great opportunity for various members of the community to come together and share their different cultural backgrounds and traditions with one another. 

In terms of architecturally enhancing the space, i believe that the cooking school will be more of an addition to the space than an exercise station. It is also easier to determine the manner in which the node will be used as it will always have an "owner" present within it, whether it be the cooking instructor or the chef who is operating the food stall. The option to purchase food from the node, invites people to linger within the site and this will help to activate the space and encourage more people to visit it. 

Map showing the density of potential users in close proximity to the site.
RED= HIGH DENSITY
YELLOW= MEDIUM DENSITY
BLUE= LOW DENSITY

As shown above, there is also a large number of potential users, in close proximity to the site. The CBD is full of office workers who may visit the stall on their lunch breaks, while New Farm, may offer a large client base for the cooking school. 



Refining the Idea.

Now that an activity has been selected, certain key aspects and details need to be refined before any design work proper can begin. 

Spider diagram indicating key aspects of the Interaction Node. 

Many key features are highlighted in the image above and each one is explored and explained below. 


1) The multicultural aspect of the node.

• This is a key feature of the node and will greatly impact its effectiveness.
• The node is intended to provide cooking classes of different genres to the general public. 
• These genres will vary on a daily or weekly basis and for that time, the food stall will be selling food items specific to that cuisine. 
• This will hopefully help to develop interest in the node and ensure that there is always something fresh and new for users to experience.
• The shared owner nature of this may cause some problems in terms of the number of temporary owners that the node will have, however, each owner will need to accept terms and conditions of using the node and leave it in the same manner that they received it or they may be fined and banned from using the node. 
• The multicultural aspect of the node will help to increase awareness of other cultures within Brisbane.

2) The food stall aspect.

• When not being used as a cooking school, the node could possibly double as a small food stalls, offering specific food items from whatever cuisine is on show at the time. 
• This will attract a larger audience to the space and will provide a larger client base than cooking classes alone would.
• The owner may choose to sell food prepared during classes, prepare fresh food on site or bring pre-prepared food with them to the node. 

Image sourced from: http://resources3.news.com.au/images/2011/09/22/1226143/431887-escape-food-stall.jpg

Something of a similar nature to the food stall above may provide a solution. 


3) The owner aspect. 

• As mentioned before this is a complex aspect of the node. 
• The nature of the concept requires a number of different owners to operate the node at different times. 
• Strict guidelines and terms and conditions will need to be drawn up and the owners will need to agree to these.
• One or more people may work within the node at any given time and operating hours will be determined by each owner, although it will be recommended that they open for lunch on weekdays as this is when there would be the largest pool of consumers. 

4) The visitor aspect. 

• Visitors could take the form of either "students" attending cooking classes, or any member of the public visiting the food stall. 
• Students will occupy the space temporarily and will require seating, shelter from the elements and a position from which to watch the cooking instructor. 
• It has been decided that they will not each receive personal work stations, as the node cannot cater for this, and instead they will simply look on as the instructor talks them through the cooking process. 
• Customers of the food stall may not occupy the node itself for as long, but may choose to linger in the surrounding parkland space while consuming the food that they have purchased. 
• They may also chose to use the seating provided for the students.
• It is hoped that the node will help to increase traffic through the site and create an interesting and vibrant environment. 

Image Sourced from: http://www.carlschaedel.com/art/cooking_class_comp.jpg 

A learning environment similar to the one pictured above would be desirable. 



5) The site aspect. 

• In terms of the site, a number of factors need to be considered.
• I believe that the proposed node will greatly enhance the space and help to increase interest of the site. 
• The historical elements of the Wharves can be kept intact and will act as an informative tool and educate people on the history of Brisbane. 
• The node itself has the potential to be a bright and vibrant addition to the parkland and will provide a focal point within it. 
• The location of the node within the site will be a critical element and this will need to be explored further. 

6) The services aspect.

• Services include basic amenities such as running water, electricity and gas. 
• There is sufficient access to the site for deliveries and emergency vehicles. 
• Ideally, the node would have the minimum amount of mechanical equipment and therefore, would require very little electricity. 
• It may be possible to integrate solar panels into the design, and make the node somewhat self sufficient in terms of energy use. 
• Gas and water lines should be present in the current structures and can simply be extended to the node as required. 

7) The flooding aspect.

• This is a very notable design restriction and will greatly impact the final design of the node. 
• It may influence choices in materials as well as what fixtures will be permanent within the node. 
• mechanical equipment could be made mobile and removed in the case of a flood, while constructing the node out of metal and masonry may be more resilient than timber. 
• Positioning the node critically within the site will also help to counteract the potential destruction of a flood. 

Minimum Requirements of the Cooking School. 

1. One cooking station- stove, over, fridge. 
2. Adequate working space for the instructor.
3. Adequate seating for the students.
4. Adequate shelter from the elements.
5. Ability to lock up at night/when not in use. 
6. Ability to enhance the site.
7. Adequate counter space for the food stall.
8. Adequate storage space.

Image Sourced From: http://newyork.grubstreet.com/upload/2010/12/end_of_the_year/20101220_yearendgrub-11food-trucks.jpg

The above image is a perfect example of how effective a small food stall that is selling an appetising and interesting product can be in a big city environment. The image shows a small kebab stall in New York City, one of the more common food stalls in the big apple and a very popular choice of snack of residents.