Let's get cooking!

The ideas for this design after cooking, drinking and dining with a bunch of chefs at a party. We noticed that people tend to move through spaces as a party progresses.

So, why not have the design enhance this flow and make it a bit more fun in the process. People arrive from the house at the lower part of the plan. They then enter an area with low tables, seat walls and a bar. From there, they can hang out at the paella bar, go to the pizza station and put together a pie, adding fresh herbs growing next to the counter. From there, they can check out the grilling action, mingle with other people, or head straight for the main dining area, complete with a fountain and fireplace. After dinner, people can stroll through the gardens, or go to an intimate tea room.

To make things more fun, Moroccan and North African design elements enliven the spaces with color and texture. There is absolutely no reason that an outdoor kitchen has to be drab and boring!

There are a lot of sustainable and edible features here, too. There is a bamboo grove for shoots, bananas whose leaves can be used instead of foil for wrapping food, pervious paving, solar roof panels to offset carbon emissions and heat water, and a lot of interesting plants that don't need much to drink.

This design was also submitted to a contest held by a magazine teamed up with the world's most expensive residential BBQ equipment manufacturer. Maybe adding a paella bar using products they don't make wasn't the best way to win, but it would sure be great to sit at!

Just click on a red dot to see an illustration corresponding to its view.