We wanted to create a ‘moment of real quality’ for this first transport hub bakery in Kensington Arcade. It was important to reduce down the GAIL’s experience to it’s core components (an abundance of bread on display, a wide range of baker’s goods laid out on the counter, the buzz of a busy coffee counter) whilst adjusting the operation to suit a high volume site with a very small footprint.
The new shopfront sets the tone for this experience with new oak cladding running into the space taken customers up to the warm tones of the counter. A complimentary terrazzo floor tile has been chosen to complete our reduced core palette of three materials before giving way to the inner stainless steel workings of the active kitchen to the rear.
As with all the sites we work on, sustainability is a key focus when sourcing materials and furniture. Specific items to note include:
– We have kept the material palette to an absolute minimum to minimise the travel of different materials and different trades on site
– The counter tiles are made by Alusid, made fro 98% recycled materials
– The counter top material is from a range called Sunlit Days by Cosentino and is a carbon neutral engineered stone.
– All timber as FSC certified Oak
– Wall and ceiling paint is by Graphenestone and has C2C bronze certification
– The back of house floor is rubber rather than PVC containing vinyl
– We have used stainless steel in place of PVC containing Whiterock (the white plastic wall covering you normally see in commercial bakeries and kitchens)
For more of our work for GAIL’s see our project page

This post was written by David Chenery

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