A kiosk at the entrance to a London mall designed by a Maltese architectural firm is in the running for four awards at the Restaurant & Bar Design Awards.
The copper leaf-shaped kiosk at the entrance to Westfield Stratford City, for Italian café brand Colicci, is the work of Mizzi Studio, a firm founded by 35-year-old Jonathan Mizzi.
The café’s sculptural roof is clad with 542 individual laser cut copper sections fixed utilising traditional handcraft over a fibreglass shell with some 20,000 rivets. It was unveiled in February of this year.
Its unique design has caught the eye of judges for the Restaurant & Bar Awards, who have shortlisted the kiosk in international award categories for outside design, ceiling design and leisure, as well as a UK award for best fast & casual restaurant design.
The Maltese-designed kiosk will compete against entries from all across the globe, from Mumbai to Abu Dhabi, Moscow, Shanghai and New York.
'Very exciting'
Speaking to Times of Malta, Mr Mizzi said the project presented several design challenges.
"We're very excited to see the project nominated for these awards," Mr Mizzi said "it involved a lot of hard work and I think we did a good job."
The youthful architect, who worked with several London-based firms including the world-renowned Foster + Partners before branching out on his own, said he has several projects in the pipeline, in London as well as in Malta.
Among other things, Mr Mizzi is a design director of MMP Studios (Malta) the architects responsible for the new Chiswick House School to be built in Pembroke.
R&B Awards
Now in its ninth year, the Restaurant & Bar Awards is a globally-recognised competition dedicated to the design of food and beverage spaces, from ships to airports, museums, Michelin-starred restaurants and food vans.
This year's awards ceremony will be held at London's King's Cross on October 5.
The kiosk is also among the finalists to be named best store for food and drink at this year's Retail Week Interiors Awards.
Another kiosk designed by the studio, for frozen yoghurt brand Yobu, came third in an award for best overall kiosk design at the 20th Visual Victories Awards.
Founded just five years ago, Mizzi Studio already boasts a portfolio including several high-profile enterprises, from The Royal Parks of Kensington and Chelsea, The Mondrian Hotel London, Zodiac Headquarters in Oxford Street, Tom Dixon and Marie Guerlain.
This Yobu kiosk designed by Mizzi Studios came third in another design competition. Photo: Chin-Han Chang