This season, FCSI’s Dynamic Design podcast, supported by Atlas Metal, is focusing on how foodservice design is adapting to the new challenges thrown up by the Covid-19 pandemic.
In this, the second episode in our new season, we hear from Min An FCSI – a principal at Ricca Design Studios who based in Los Angeles, California, United States. A Registered Dietitian in her home country of South Korea, Min An’s design specialties include culinary design for hotels, healthcare, public assembly, corporate, higher education, corrections as well as laundry design for hotels, healthcare, corrections – as well as back-of-house-planning.
You can hear the episode, below:
https://soundcloud.com/fcsi-dynamic-design/dynamic-design-podcast-season-3-episode-1-min-an-fcsi
“We will recover and we will be better than before”
“In general, I think the pandemic lets us think out-of-the-box and accelerated certain things,” says An. “We used to follow the traditional delivery method, like construction, after the conventional design phases. But now, I’ve involved more and more alternate delivery contracts like IPD [integrated project delivery] and PDB [Progressive Design-Build] in my projects. I can’t tell if it’s because of the pandemic or not, but I’ve seen this more and more in the RFP. It is highly collaborative among clients, design, and construction teams. It eliminated many assumptions in our documents, reduced RFIs during the construction phase, and shortened the project schedule.”
On the levels of positivity An has for the state of the industry’s recovery, she is unequivocal. “I’m optimistic. I feel confident to be in the foodservice industry with great partners who always bring innovative ideas, new products to the current situation and exchange opinions,” she says. “We will recover, and we will be better than before.”
Further details:
This podcast series, available on both Soundcloud and Podbean, is supported by Atlas Metal, a trusted serving equipment partner with a hands-on approach to doing business. See how they’re making metal personal at atlasfoodserv.com.
Season three:
In the first episode, FCSI Associate Tim McDougald of Clevenger Associates talks about the future of the display kitchen, the so-called demise of salad bars, the future of large dining rooms and the resurgence of the humble QR code.
Season two:
In the first episode, Scott Reitano FCSI of Reitano Design Group discusses the design of commercial kitchens and front-of-house spaces for the education sector: from K-12 to colleges and universities.
In the second episode of series two, Christine Guyott FCSI of Rippe Associates addresses foodservice design in healthcare – from hospitals to senior living facilities.
In the third episode of series two, Ken Schwartz FCSI of SSA takes on restaurant kitchen design.
Season one:
In episode one, season one of the series, William Caruso FFCSI (PP), founding partner of WC & Partners, Inc. and chair of FCSI The Americas looked at the importance of strategic and practical planning when leading a design-led foodservice project from a consultancy perspective.
In episode two, season one, Kristin Sedej FCSI of S2O Consultants, Inc, addressed how essential it is to have solid partnerships, when working on a design-led foodservice project from a consultancy perspective.
In episode three, season one, Joseph Schumaker FCSI of Foodspace discussed why it is essential to marry strong aesthetic design with robust functionality and the correct processes to achieve the right flow when designing a commercial kitchen.
In episode four, season one, Laura Lentz FCSI of Culinary Advisors looks at why the wellbeing of the end-user (from the back-of-house and front-of-house employees, to the customers) must come first when designing a commercial kitchen space.
The above episodes, and all additional FCSI podcasts, are also available to download on Podbean.
Michael Jones
