hospitalitystyle.com

(Fall 2011) posted on Tue Sep 27, 2011 EDT

Express Yourself: Turn down the lights. Turn up the music. Turn your kids loose in their own interactive play space. Customization is the new order at Pizza Express.

By Mary Scoviak

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Pizza Express’ Living Lab in suburban London is a beta-test site for design and menu innovations, the most successful of which will be rolled out across the 300-plus unit chain. It’s also a proving ground for how much new materials and technology can facilitate truly trendsetting interiors at any price point. Collaborating with teams of culinary, sound, lighting and graphics experts, Ab Rogers Design uses laminates, butchers’ tiles and vinyl alongside pioneering lighting and acoustics to deliver a hip, customizable dining experience in a casual setting.

It’s not just a third space; it’s “your” space. Customers can adjust the lighting to suit their mood and plug-and-play their own music at tableside iPod docks. Easy conversation is also on the menu thanks to sound-absorbing liners in the parabolic lights and suspended circular panels. Even kids have the luxury of choice. Before or after eating, they can retreat to a dedicated interactive zone conveniently positioned with clear sight lines for the watchful eyes of parents and staff. That’s a lot of bang at a brand that promotes a two-course meal for a little over $20.

“Bang” is what the chain wanted when it commissioned Ab Rogers and his London-based team to help re-invent this perennial favorite among the U.K.’s high-street pizzerias. “The brilliance of the brief lay in the opportunity to challenge the fundamentals of Pizza Express,” says Rogers, who has taken on everything from rejuvenating Little Chef to creating the Learning Centre for the Tate Modern. “The Living Lab idea meant we could redirect the focus on the dynamics of the interior. In the new design, the pizzaiola would once again be the hero and the kitchen would be the heart of the restaurant.”

Keeping the focus on the pizza maker and the food itself dictated an open plan. Mirrors above the display kitchen provide a secondary view of the culinary theater—fitting for the company that introduced some of the first open kitchens to London. The emphasis on the fare continues at the tables. “We decided to use white plates and warm lighting that’s tightly focused to make the colors of the ingredients pop,” says Rogers.

However, since Pizza Express’ leadership wanted to stress the social side of dining as well, the designers had to find solutions that would carve out intimate spaces without dividers or walls. “We researched a variety of dining experiences from the Blue Frog in India to the Cibreo in Florence to find a language that would be open and intimate, nurturing and entertaining,” says Rogers. He developed a series of niches capped by the oversized dome lights to personalize the perimeter. Moving to the center, he relied on shape and proportion to encourage guests to linger rather than grab and go. That’s what suggested the curve of the chairs at the platooned central tables as well as the semi-circular form of the conversation booths.

Careful sourcing was critical to get this bespoke look on a fast-fashion budget. “Having a simple palette of modest materials helped,” says Rogers. “Abet Laminati supplied all of the tabletops in Straticolor [with its colored layers] and all of the kitchen worktops in Pral. Sourcing from one manufacturer gave us greater purchasing power. But we worked closely with all of the suppliers and visited the factories at every key stage of production to check that the details were right prior to implementation. Measure twice, cut once—that’s still the formula for value engineering.”

Although each element contributes to a look that’s cool enough for a date night and comfortable enough for families, it’s the integrated approach to design that makes the Pizza Express prototype in Richmond enviable even to its upscale competitors. Sergio Luzzi, the renowned acoustician based in Florence, provided the solutions for the pendants and ceiling panels. Technology experts worked with the lighting designers to integrate iPod speakers into the domes. Games designer Spiral consulted on the entertainment for the kids’ space, while fashion designer Matthew Miller styled the street-worthy uniforms. Italian chef Antonio Romani contributed his cooking and operations expertise. So did the brigade and wait staff, whom Rogers’ team shadowed to understand what worked and what could be improved.

“Knowing when to stop with the design was critical, but so was not allowing any element of the technology or aesthetics to take away focus from the food,” says Rogers. Customers agree. Year-over-year sales improved nearly 15 percent in the months following the relaunch—one reason six restaurants will see a redo this year and another 20 are the on the waiting list for a techno-chic makeover.