Es Tendencia – New trends in restaurant interior design

Miquel Àngel Julià Hierro, partner-director of strategy and design at Grup Idea, talks about new trends in restaurant interior design in the latest monograph published in EsDesign. Miquel Àngel teaches on the Master’s Degree in Commercial Space Design: Retail Design at ESDESIGN.

In the monograph Trends in Restaurant Interior Design, Miquel Àngel sets out three keys to understanding how to bridge the gap between the kitchen and the digital world:

 

Trends vs ‘be in style’

While fashions are fleeting, trends show us where we are heading as a society. If we investigate what the new trends in catering and gastronomy are, we would find the Dark Kitchen or Ghost Kitchen phenomena, the exponential increase in delivery, contactless gastronomic experiences, immersive gastronomy, organic, specialised or vegetarian food, among others.

 

Strategy, creativity, branding, design and innovation in the restaurant industry

It is by developing new business models and a good strategy prior to design that we will be able to innovate. So says Miquel Ángel Julià, referring to the business and gastronomic model of El Bulli1846, the restaurant of the brothers Ferran and Albert Adrià, which opened in a trial period from April 2022. The new format of space and kitchen service changes radically. It has an intimate space for no more than 150 diners and will offer visits from April to November. The rest of the year, the intention is to hold social and cultural activities. 

 

Food Design, 3D printing and other innovations

Food Design has emerged as a new discipline and involves everything from food design, packaging, utensils, spaces and ways of presenting and preserving food. Other trends such as 3D printing, the use of QR codes or digital payment have burst onto the scene and will continue to shape the design of restaurant spaces.

 

Designing architecture, interiors and products

The creative methods for designing spaces and objects can be the same. According to Juli Capella, to whom Miquel Àngel Julià Hierro refers in the publication, objects can be considered “Tiny Architectures”. For Julià, design is one of the best communication tools, as by playing with scales, it makes it possible to connect and explain cultures and, ultimately, to improve the diner’s experience. With this philosophy, he gives as examples the work of designers such as Luki Huber or Andrea Soto in designing kitchen utensils and cutlery for Albert and Ferran Adrià. 

See the original publication on the ES DESIGN website or click on ‘Download the publication’ to read the monograph in Spanish.