Restaurant Intypes: Contemporary Interior Design And Theory Study

Abstract

The focus of this thesis research is the identification, development and naming of a series of archetypical practices for restaurant designs for the on-going Intypes (Interior Archetypes) Research and Teaching Project. Initiated in 1997 this project creates a typology of contemporary design practices that are derived from reiterative historical designs that span time and style and cross cultural boundaries. Research regarding designing of restaurant spaces in terms of creating spatial experiences through interior design elements hardly exists, whereas numerous books featuring 'hip restaurants' or restaurants designed by celebrity architects or designers abound. This thesis developed theoretical studies based on restaurant design from those examples that have been recognized and published in significant architectural and interior design trade journals. Previous graduate students have developed Intypes for other practice types, including retail store, art museum, boutique hotel, as well as elements, such as materials. However, the body of knowledge being developed by the Intypes project lacked practices about restaurant design, one of the major hospitality practice areas. This thesis resulted in the development of fourteen Restaurant Intypes according to color schemes, seating arrangements, display aesthetics, lighting strategies, wall treatments, and materials. These Intypes are identified and classified based on a comprehensive survey of contemporary trade magazines and scholarly articles, secondary sources, and site visits of significant recently completed restaurant interiors. Each typology was developed by describing their characteristic qualities, and tracing its reiterations back historically. The Restaurant Intypes developed in this study will be uploaded to the new Inypes website --Intypes.Cornell.edu -- a web-based research and teaching site that makes design history and contemporary practice accessible to academics, professionals and students. The web site will open in June 2009 as a free site.