Global architect HOK has delivered Kew Gardens’ latest public attraction, the Family Kitchen & Shop.
The Family Kitchen & Shop at Kew Gardens designed by architects HOK with front-of-house interiors by Mizzi Studio and Lumsden Design, is an environmentally driven, education-led food space for visitors of all ages. The restaurant has been designed as a highly sustainable timber building that aligns with the sustainability ethos of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; its interiors present a world of fantasy – a colourful, interactive space that teaches families all about the origins of their food.
In a truly collaborative approach, the Family Kitchen & Shop, designed by HOK’s London studio with the front of house design by Mizzi Studio and Lumsden Design, with design development, interior design and D&B delivery by CityAxis with Mulroy Architects, have created a building of the highest quality, successfully collaborating with RBG Kew to design an environment that stimulates, educates and engages children of all ages.
HOK’s brightly sunlit building celebrates the beauty of exposed timber – a material with exemplary sustainability credentials that have been shown to reduce stress and lower the response of the sympathetic nervous system. Raw, tactile and robust materials provide the canvas with construction techniques demonstrated through exposed detailing and materiality. On entering the building, children visiting the Family Kitchen & Shop will be surrounded by a fantastical front-of-house interior design by Mizzi Studio, with exciting and interactive structures that double up as seats, tables, worktops, lights and educational tools. Finally, families will be able to visit a Kew Gardens’ newest retail space – a colourful, welcoming and open space designed by Lumsden Design.
