Member Article

Sedley Place brings Believe in Better to life for Sky with The Kitchen and The Loft

Sky has unveiled two iconic restaurant concepts, designed by creative consultancy Sedley Place, at its flagship Osterley media campus in West London.

Called The Kitchen and The Loft respectively, the restaurants have been designed by Sedley Place to broaden the existing offerings beyond the restaurant, diner and delicatessen operations currently available to campus staff. In addition, The Kitchen and The Loft have been designed with flexibility at their core, with adaptable spaces that can work as restaurants during the day and more fluid, social spaces in the evenings.

The Kitchen’s creative inspiration comes from post-industrial buildings with exposed structures, suspended lighting and sinuous, curved banquette seating. Within the space, the soft design materials ensure the right acoustics to keep conversations private and the atmosphere intimate and personal.

With a maître d’ to seat customers in The Kitchen and an artistic, creative environment, the space is designed to give the look and feel of a fashionable high street restaurant.

The creative concept for The Loft amplifies the space’s height and dramatic rooftop views of Sky’s newly opened ‘Believe in Better’ building to full effect, with a studio feel celebrating the massive exposed timber structure. Bringing a little bit of ‘Shoreditch’ to Osterley, a deliberately busy atmosphere is created in the 110-seat space giving diners a view of the chefs preparing food. The vibe is heightened using urban furniture, oiled timber floors, a steel-panelled bar, and counters with suspended industrial lighting.

The Loft bar front also features a mosaic of brick pattern ceramic tiles whilst the seating features a mixture of high tables, small clusters and a long upholstered banquette table. The whole space is brought to life further by surrounding windows that slide aside to give access to a year-round roof top deck.

Sedley Place, which has previously designed seven other restaurants in Sky offices in London and Scotland, also helped devise The Kitchen’s brand look and logotype which is used across print materials and signage. The all-British menu is provided by catering business Gather & Gather and the 120-seat restaurant is in a brand-new building (designed by architects ALA.)

The Loft, which is also operated by Gather & Gather, features a Mediterranean influenced menu and also offers staff a beverage service after hours. The Believe In Better Building was designed by ARUP.

Nick Green, Director, Property Service Group at Sky, comments: “We wanted The Kitchen and The Loft to be far more than just places for employees to grab a quick lunch. We have made the provision of affordable, good quality food an important differentiator for people working at Sky. It helps to make Sky a great place to work and also encourages collaboration, creative occasions and a healthy lifestyle. When the right food and the right interior design come together it creates something really quite special and this is what Sedley Place have helped us to deliver.”

Mick Nash, managing director at Sedley Place, adds: “Sky doesn’t just want catering; it wants to inspire and make its people feel looked after. We chose the furniture, fittings and overall design to create an ambiance that appealed to both hearts and minds, and to complement Gather & Gather’s excellent food offer.

Sky has admirable plans for making its ‘Believe in Better’ strapline meaningful across the board and not least at its Osterley home. It aims to deliver a world-class working and creative environment. That’s why it has placed so much focus on its dining facilities.“

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Alex Sampson .