As more customers begin to order food through online channels, a new KFC pilot project in Newcastle, Australia looks to create a more efficient operating model to keep up with this change in consumer behavior.
Designed by FRCH NELSON with KFC SOPAC, the drive-thru only KFC features five lanes, two set up for traditional on-the-spot drive-thru orders, and three that allow customers to order and pay for a meal through the brand’s app or website. For online orders, customers drive up to one of the designated lanes and enter a four-digit code generated by the app on a touchscreen. Once the code is entered, the online order is sent to the kitchen where it is freshly prepared.
The goal of the design was to create a holistic drive-thru experience that leverages architecture, communication, service, and landscape. Without having the benefit of a public-facing interior, FRCH NELSON had to find other opportunities to display and celebrate the KFC brand on the building’s exterior, which leverages natural materials in conjunction with steel and glazing.
See Also: ‘The Whale’ will be an arctic attraction 185 miles north of the Arctic Circle
A large halo-lit Colonel Sanders layered atop the building’s wood-clad walls greets guests and the drive thru portal uses bold architecture to create a beacon for the experience. “With traditional restaurants, the building is the experience, but with this new concept it became a fixture – one element supporting the overall experience,” said Marty McCauley, Design Director at FRCH NELSON, in a release. “We had to utilize every exterior touchpoint from the landscaping, to the signage, to the architecture of the drive-thru portal, to create a holistic experience for guests.”
Related Stories
| Oct 27, 2014
Report estimates 1.2 million people experience LEED-certified retail centers daily
The "LEED In Motion: Retail" report includes USGBC’s conceptualization of the future of retail, emphasizing the economic and social benefit of green building for retailers of all sizes and types.
| Oct 16, 2014
Perkins+Will white paper examines alternatives to flame retardant building materials
The white paper includes a list of 193 flame retardants, including 29 discovered in building and household products, 50 found in the indoor environment, and 33 in human blood, milk, and tissues.
| Oct 15, 2014
Harvard launches ‘design-centric’ center for green buildings and cities
The impetus behind Harvard's Center for Green Buildings and Cities is what the design school’s dean, Mohsen Mostafavi, describes as a “rapidly urbanizing global economy,” in which cities are building new structures “on a massive scale.”
| Oct 12, 2014
AIA 2030 commitment: Five years on, are we any closer to net-zero?
This year marks the fifth anniversary of the American Institute of Architects’ effort to have architecture firms voluntarily pledge net-zero energy design for all their buildings by 2030.
| Sep 25, 2014
Bjarke Ingels headed home for latest project: Aarhus Island
Aarhus Island will be a waterside development in Denmark's second-largest city. The mixed-use development will implement Ingels' signature angled look in its residential towers.
| Sep 24, 2014
Architecture billings see continued strength, led by institutional sector
On the heels of recording its strongest pace of growth since 2007, there continues to be an increasing level of demand for design services signaled in the latest Architecture Billings Index.
| Sep 22, 2014
4 keys to effective post-occupancy evaluations
Perkins+Will's Janice Barnes covers the four steps that designers should take to create POEs that provide design direction and measure design effectiveness.
| Sep 22, 2014
Sound selections: 12 great choices for ceilings and acoustical walls
From metal mesh panels to concealed-suspension ceilings, here's our roundup of the latest acoustical ceiling and wall products.
| Sep 15, 2014
Ranked: Top international AEC firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Parsons Brinckerhoff, Gensler, and Jacobs top BD+C's rankings of U.S.-based design and construction firms with the most revenue from international projects, as reported in the 2014 Giants 300 Report.
| Sep 9, 2014
Using Facebook to transform workplace design
As part of our ongoing studies of how building design influences human behavior in today’s social media-driven world, HOK’s workplace strategists had an idea: Leverage the power of social media to collect data about how people feel about their workplaces and the type of spaces they need to succeed.
