SECOND PRIZE WINNER!
Dilara Sarıkaya
Turkey
Dilara Sarıkaya is a 23-year-old senior architecture student at Gazi University.
Interview with the Winner
Congratulations on winning the Extreme Taste Restaurant Design Competition! Can you briefly introduce yourself and your background in design?
My name is Dilara Sarıkaya. I am 23 years old. I am a senior architecture student at Gazi University. I have never participated in any competition before, I can say that this is my first international competition.
The theme of the competition was "Extreme Taste." How did you interpret this theme in your restaurant design concept?
The first thing I thought about when interpreting the Extreme Taste theme in my concept was that it was a concept that would arouse the customer's curiosity and make them want to come and see it as soon as possible. First, I thought about myself. If I were a customer, what would attract me there, what would happen in that restaurant, would I rearrange my plans to go there or would I want to come from another country? Afterwards, I wanted to combine my restaurant concept with my own interests. I remembered the food names in the fantasy-historical fiction books I read. I started my research by finding the recipes. When I realized that I had access to recipes, the idea started to appeal. Afterwards, I started asking questions to my friends around me who were not very interested in these issues. I designed such a restaurant, would you come? Would you like to see it? I realized that even if they were not interested in these subjects, they found them interesting and wanted to try them. I realized that I could attract customers there because they were curious, even if they were not interested. I liked this idea and was completely settled on my concept.
What inspired you to create the concept for your winning design? Were there any specific flavors, cuisines, or culinary experiences that influenced your vision?
Books were what inspired me. Books with their own world, their own language, their own food. What inspired me was that I imagined what the food looked like while reading the books. I can say that no particular cuisine influenced me. My aim was to create a flavor that had never been made before. I could bring out that flavor with the best imagination. Since I am not a chef who can come up with a new recipe myself, the best way to do this was to take advantage of the closest source that feeds my imagination. That's why I chose books.
The competition emphasized pushing the boundaries of traditional culinary experiences. How does your design challenge conventional norms in restaurant architecture?
I made my structure transparent to challenge traditional norms. I tried to keep the closure to a minimum level, except for the sections that need to be closed and will serve as carriers. I tried to move forward in parallel with the view that the area where the production was located gave me. I decided on an area surrounded by trees like a wall. My aim when choosing it was to both create a magical forest reference for the books and to use the elements that the competition wanted from me. I needed to present these trees as a view to customers, so transparent design was important to me. Also, the concept I designed was about imaginary dishes that did not actually exist. I tried to be imaginative there, just like my meals, with my use of transparency. I wanted my core to remain like a ruin, in harmony with the historical texture of the city. The transparency I created around it would remain between yes and no. I used glass carriers, glass curtain walls and glass floors.
I wanted the trees and fire pit, which I included in my concept to engage the senses in my restaurant, along with my use of torches, to create a fairy-tale ambiance and appeal to the eye. I dreamed of nice dinners that could be eaten with the rustling of the trees. I thought about the feelings that different taste combinations of dishes that they had never tasted before would evoke in people, and how attractive the smell of an open kitchen and food cooking on a fire pit would be.
Visual aesthetics play a crucial role in restaurant design. How did you ensure that your design was visually striking and captured the essence of "Extreme Taste"?
I preferred that my restaurant be hidden from the outside and not immediately visible. Therefore, if you are an outsider, you will not be able to understand exactly what it is, but once you enter the garden, you will be greeted by a design that attracts attention with its transparency. I thought that a building that could reflect so much light and make people feel what was going on inside, unlike the tall and stone buildings around, could be interesting.
The concept of surprise and delight is essential in delivering an extraordinary dining experience. How does your design evoke these emotions for patrons?
Since enjoyment is a somewhat relative concept, it was a more logical choice to release the customers. I offered the client an open and closed area, a terrace and view, day and night service, a self-service or appointment system, a dinner and event area, a cafe and bar. I placed them at appropriate times and places. I leave it to the customer to choose what he/she needs to do to enjoy it. I chose a slightly different route for the surprise. I suggested menu changes, references to newly published books, book recipes that customers could choose from at the exhibition, and author signing and meeting days that referenced festival days. Thus, I tried to make it a place where they can eat different dishes and want to come again.
The architecture of the restaurant should reflect and enhance the concept of intense flavors. Can you explain how your design achieves this goal?
As I mentioned before, I ensured that my design integrated with the taste I offered by remaining between what is and what is not. All of these recipes were imaginary and did not exist. I tried to be like that too. I thought I could achieve this with the best glass. Since most of the books I referenced exhibited a medieval-like atmosphere, I tried to give importance to the ambiance of the design. That's why I emphasized the lighting and the combination of glass and green. In this way, I determined a design in my mind and achieved the goal.
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