Unilever Studio Gourmet

Location: São Paulo | São Paulo / Brazil
Opening date: December 2009
Project size: 345m² (3,713 square feet)

Our briefing was to develop the architectural and interior design for the new experimental kitchens for Unilever Brazil making them the reference kitchens in the markets where they operate. These kitchens for the Food Solutions and Foods divisions – professional and retail markets, respectively – previously operated separately and were then being restructured in a new shared area: the Studio Gourmet. The activities that take place in the Studio Gourmet vary from training and qualification of customers and professionals in the food service market, culinary workshops for customers and guests, testing and products innovations research, development of various recipes, and others. It consists of two professional and two domestic kitchens, a tasting area, cabins for sensory analysis, a lounge and a library and it is located at the Unilever Brazil headquarters.

THE CHALLENGES

The space follows the best environmental practices in professional kitchens – which earned it the Green Kitchen seal – with stoves that use induction system and electrostatic hoods with water curtain, in addition to the maximum use of natural light. Moreover, the oil used in the preparations is collected and all the garbage is separated for recycling. Specific equipment and furniture for the needs of users such as the kitchen station, cooking island and the furniture for food tasting have been developed by the StudioIno Design and Strategy team to guarantee flexibility in space configuration.

THE AMBIENCE

The kitchens reproduce the ambience of the best restaurants or the home environment, depending on the purpose, always meeting stringent technical, operational, ergonomic and health specifications. Each kitchen was designed to be self-sufficient and to increase efficiency and productivity.

With the latest equipment, the Test and Applications Center is where new products are developed and tested, recipes are applied and personalized menus are developed for different clients. Finally, in the three sensory analysis cabins Unilever can optimize the development of innovation and perform testing and improvement of existing products.

CLIENT’S TESTIMONIAL

One of the space premises was to ensure flexibility of layouts. The proposal included counters with casters that facilitated transport as well as mobile stands of different sizes that provided different furniture configurations without losing the functionality needed in the kitchen. Consumers and customers visiting the space express enchantment and recognize our culinary expertise that is also present in this layout and furnishings. Recently we were visited by the Le Cordon Bleu School team and they loved the space.

Betania Gattai, Customer Service Manager| Unilever Food Solutions

CREDIT

Decoration project: Athié | Wohnrath Corporate Architecture.