OUR PROPOSAL

Light Garden was created as a part of Unit X, in response to the 'Closed Loop' brief and 'Where The Light Gets In' a restaurant in Stockport.

Our concept is based around the introductory space that diners initially pass through before entering the main restaurant area. Light Garden will be an ever-evolving installation space reflecting each evenings menu. By turning waste products from the days food preparation into a beautiful light display and combining it with a short film, the WTLGI ethos is conveyed to customers before they have even been seated to eat.

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Taking inspiration from the inside of the restaurant, with its herb drying rack and pulley system, Light Garden will echo its design providing a continuity throughout the whole building. However, rather than keep keeping its contents hidden away the glass base of the frame, with the light shining above, will create stunning shapes and reflections on the dark walls of the entrance-way.

The glass base for the frame will be made from horticultural glass, otherwise known as greenhouse glass. It is cheap and easy to aquire as much of it is given away from farms that have had panes broken or spare pieces from people building their own greenhouses. The rope for the pulley system will be made from a heavy duty jute rope, a sturdy and natural product to suspend the heavy wooden frame. Jute can be used for a wide variety of purposes so any waste from this can go to be used in the kitchen or elsewhere in the restaurant. 

The frame itself will be made from a sustainable pine wood. Pine trees are fast-growing and tend to be more sustainable than slow-growing trees such as Oak. By choosing wood from a sustainably managed forest, we are preventing damage to eco-systems, watersheds, wildlife and the trees themselves. The scrap-wood piece from the centre of the frame can go on to be used as either a chopping or serving board.

We aim for Light Garden to not just be an installation, but also an educational tool. Through our initial research and interview with Chloe and Sam, we understood the importance of the 'Closed Loop' theme and the sustainability of a product. We feel like it is important for customer to know not only where their food is coming from but why those particular producers and growers have been chosen. As a feature of the entranceway, a QR code will be displayed so that customers can access our short film where Sam is shown explaining where WTLGI's closed loop mentality comes from and also how their produce is selected.

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. The ease of the pulley system and hinged frame means that anyone can use it. Chefs can be given the oppourtunity to curate the frame display themselves, using any waste they have produced throughout the day. This product highlights the restaurant's key value of 'transparency' right through from the kitchen to the customer. During their visit the customer will see not only the food they are eating, but also the waste products from that food translated into something beautiful. As they leave the same way they walked in, they may look up and notice the glass frame holding the waste product. Their whole experience at WTLGI may cause them to think differently about the waste they create and its potential to be transformed into something entirely different.