In the final instalment, we discuss where F&B design is going and how it ought to evolve
Problems for the age, like sustainability, plastic waste and climate catastrophe, will, of course, inform all human endeavours. If anything, the invasion of Ukraine and the Covid-19 scourge is a vivid reminder that even a neighbourhood matcha café in Puchong is subject to knock-on effects of international politics and global events.
Forward-thinking developments like Tamarind Square in Cyberjaya, Desa Park City, and The Stories of Taman Tunku have incorporated the biophilic design into their plans to reduce soaring temperatures and created an inviting space in which to live, work and play.
A counterpoint to their air-conditioned interiors, rooftop and vertical gardens atop city malls like Lot 10 and Lalaport are escape hatches to nature. Even the thoughtful inclusion of outdoor areas into the caffeinated outposts like Kenny Hill Bakers in TTDI and VCR Bakehouse in Hartamas has been embraced by typically sun-adverse Malaysians.
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Acme Group’s mostly alfresco Dusun by Open House sets the benchmark, interesting for its emphasis on locally sourced produce and the use of sustainable, natural materials. Foliage is front and centre in its design and business philosophy. Woven bamboo cladding and rattan furnishings feature in the ID and a full-sized tree at the heart of its premises; at the same time, it sets its intention, offsetting its use of local firewood to create the smoky char in its grilled dishes by supporting Malaysian Nature Society’s mangrove tree planting efforts.
For a city notorious for its unsentimental approach to development and sometimes heartless propensity for replacing old with new, the uptick in the adaptive reuse of old and often disused buildings is an especially gratifying turn of events for historophiles, aesthetes, and environmentalists.
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