Maltese design studio Mizzi Studio has been selected to design a new family kitchen for the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in southwest London. The kitchen will be sited directly beside their Children’s Garden – a verdant, natural setting that allows children to explore and play surrounded by the presence of earth, air, sun  and water.

The team received overwhelmingly positive scores and feedback following the tender process, which comprised entries from international architecture firms such as HOK. The tender panel was struck by Mizzi Studio’s holistic, nature-driven approach to the project brief.

The design offers food in a theatrical, nature-led and technology-driven setting. Comprising food preparation stations, dining areas and retail, the kitchen marries fantasy and nature with science, promoting education, wonder, organic dominance, food culture, and interactivity.

A zoning approach within the restaurant follows the theme of the four seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter, with applicable colour stories, material texture and visual cues permeating into the different sections and seating throughout the kitchen. Colours draw from the natural hues and tones of each season, functioning as both implicit wayfinding and playful décor. Diversity in material is used to reinforce the concept of enjoying nature through the seasons, with surfaces ranging from warm timbers to smooth glass and resins.

In keeping with Mizzi Studio’s signature style, biophilic and biomorphic design elements proliferate throughout the scheme.  Specifically, the key seating arrangements are influenced by organic elements living in the natural world, including vegetables, fungi and vibrant plant life.

We’ve designed a space that celebrates nature and learning

With the capacity to host up to 150 diners, the Family Kitchen at Kew has been designed to support a variety in party size numbers, age and physical ability.

The design offers food in a theatrical, nature-led and technology-driven setting.

 The entire space has been divided into zones that flow in and out of each other, but that each provide distinct seating arrangements catering for different groups. Larger seating plans exist for extended families and big groups, while more intimate set-ups are available for parents or child-minders dining alone with their children. Throughout the kitchen, accessibility has been designed as default not exception, becoming a feature of inclusion and an extension of the spirit of Kew Gardens: an ultimate family destination that transcends age.

“It’s not every day that you get to design for your dream client – an institution that has brought so much value to the entire world. We are honoured to be working with Kew,” Jonathan Mizzi, director of Mizzi Studio, said.

“We’ve designed a space that celebrates nature and learning. It’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory meets nature-led laboratory. It’s a place for families, where children can learn about our ecosystem – how the sun works, how plants work, and how food is grown. We want children to meaningfully engage with our planet so that they can grow up to live environmentally and socially responsible lives. We hope this kitchen can play a part in achieving that.”

Mizzi Studio was also recently announced to be one of three international studios to be selected, out of 97 applicants, in the South Kensington Green Trail design competition which forms part of the London Festival of Architecture’s year-round of public realm interventions.