The Ultimate Design Solution

Many things come to mind at the mention of Solwezi and the North Western Province: maybe it’s the Likumbi Lya Mize traditional ceremony, the mines or the source of the Zambezi River for some, but for myself, having stayed in Solwezi, dust is what’s synonymous with the town. This is why the town has fondly taken on the moniker, “Kyalo Kya Lukungu” by the local Kaonde people which when translated means, “The world of dust”.

Dust is the greatest constraint when it comes to designing for the outdoor, and is the challenge I faced designing an extension to an existing eatery.

The café is the first shop out of the carpark in a bungalow building, and it is currently made up of a counter, an indoor eating area and a kitchen.

An increase in demand as a result of its close proximity to Kansanshi mine has made the owners opt to increase their supply by way of introducing a fast food service for sandwiches and burgers. A glass box of frozen meats, sauces and bread rolls below a secondary counter was placed in the indoor sitting zone which has since been relocated to the outdoor.

Having a semi-exposed outdoor sitting area as part of the client’s brief, a solution had to be sought for the dust, and in true outdoor design fashion, a vanished timber pergola with creeping ivy plants was realized.

The idea was to have a hedge and creepers warding off dust from all direction while bringing in beauty and nature to this convenience store at the same time.

In the grand scheme of things, this landscape technique proved to be the ultimate design solution.

The Baker’s Man 👨🏽‍🍳

A 7 meter by 13 meter vacant room in a bungalow Warehouse served as a blank canvas for a proposed bakery design.

With two conveniences tucked at the back, the rectangular high level void that then makes up the foreground helped a great deal in providing compartmentalized but yet functional and fluid spaces key to a bakery.

Practically speaking, since there’s only one door connecting the inside to the outside, it was only wise to position a counter around there – a glass counter for display’s sake. This counter is to display all manner of confectionery intended for produce within the premises; from bread to bread rolls and from cakes to cupcakes.

And because having only one access isn’t safe in case of an emergency, a fire exit had to be opened up at the back, as well as to serve for easy access between the loading and unloading bay, and the storeroom.

The storeroom sits behind the counter and serves to provide storage for all the ingredients a bakery might require.

While having two Water Closets didn’t sound practical, removing one and replacing it with a small office did. Small, in the sense to have only a room the owner can sit in as he handles the few things in need of his attention.

The Workstation being as core to the running of any bakery as it is, had to be of majestic grandeur with a centered work table for easier maneuvering around the room. Resting on a floating counter-top at the back is a chrome sink while stacked above one another in the front are wooden shelves and such Kitchen appliances as ovens are flanked by a wall to the left.

Finally, introducing a few accessories was necessary in the way of adding a sparkle to the space, as well as in making it somewhat industrial. My absolute favorites being the three steel hand grater re-purposed bulb holders above the Counter as well as the other three above the Work table.