The first of a series of kiosks by Mizzi Studio for the Royal Parks has opened in Green Park, London
The first of a family of kiosks, designed by Mizzi Studio on behalf of Colicci for prominent locations in the Royal Parks in London, has opened at Ritz Corner, Green Park. Eight more kiosks will open during the winter, culminating with the opening of a new landmark cafe, also designed by Mizzi Studio, on the Serpentine Bridge in spring 2019.
The organic-inspired designs for the family of kiosks and new café respond sympathetically to the Grade I listed landscape and embody the ethos of the Royal Parks as a leader in sustainability. Mizzi Studio has used sustainable materials and traditional craft techniques, together with state-of-the-art manufacturing methods, to create simple, functional forms that are both striking and elegant.
The kiosks are conceived as a family of individual forms that are united in their design language, with a 360-degree sculptural canopy that swells out like a tree’s crown, creating a recognisable silhouette. The organic-inspired volumes follow a continuous shape with varying degrees of curvature and differing cladding profiles that provide contrasting textures to the surface.
Together with Colicci, Mizzi Studio explored the parks’ heritage and has tailored the design of each kiosk of the new cafe to the history and nuances of its respective site, to create new visitor experiences and make a refreshment stop an integral part of a journey through the parks.
The flagship Horse Shoe Bend kiosk in St James’s Park, in view of Buckingham Palace, will be clad in tubular brass and mirror the ornate precious metals that adorn Thomas Brock’s Queen Victoria Memorial, while the choice of timber cladding for the rest of the kiosks rests on the relationship with the park environment. Tom Raffield is steam-bending the oak cladding. High quality materials have been used throughout the design, from sustainable oak to oxidised copper, new copper, stainless steel and brass.
Mizzi Studio’s design also takes into consideration the use of space, energy efficiency and practicalities such as waste disposal. A rear entrance leaves the sides of the kiosk available for subtle and efficient service features, including integrated bins and condiment holders.
The new landmark cafe opening on the Serpentine bridge in Hyde Park in spring 2019 will have views towards the Serpentine lake and the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain. It has been designed to create an engaging experience, reflective of the neighbouring Serpentine Sackler Gallery and the legacy of the Serpentine Gallery pavilions. The building’s form is defined by a sculptural brass roof, whose dramatic, undulating shape takes the curve of the Serpentine lake as a point of departure.
Mizzi Studio has also drawn inspiration from Japanese architecture for the design of the cafe in Hyde Park. For the roof it has translated the characteristic roofs of a pagoda into a more fluid form, while the windows traditionally seen in Japanese tea houses have influenced the series of horizontal mullions that divide the glazing in the pavilion. The mullions create a semi-transparent open space where the boundary between indoors and outdoors is blurred, enabling the building to coexist harmoniously with its environment.
