Kanner Architects is collaborating with UMAMI Group, creating a concept restaurant called UMAMI KO (U-ko). The modular burger shack is meant to inhabit urban settings worldwide, creating a comfortable indoor/outdoor experience within an environmentally sensitive structure.
Architects: Kanner Architects Client: Umami Group Project Area: 2,240 sqf
The owner imagined a sustainable “restaurant as a shack”. Large generous openings flood the interior dining and bar area with natural light, while visually connecting customers to the outdoor terrace and surrounding context. An indoor garden makes up the buildings core, distributing additional natural elements throughout the entry, kitchen, bar, dining, and service areas.
U-Ko’s ecologically sensitive experience is powered by a photovoltaic solar system that is integrated within the recycled steel exterior shading structure. The building prototype is energy and water efficient. Post-consumer recycled paper louvers provide additional flexibility to the modular facade. Additional recycled materials used include FSC certified wood exterior and interior walls, FSC certified hardwood flooring, reclaimed wood outdoor deck, bamboo and fiber board, salvaged aluminum waste countertops, and grass pavements for parking.
Customers order and pay for meals through an innovative Umami touch screen tablet, located at each table. Receipts are sent directly to the customer’s email address, further reducing the environmental impact of the U-Ko experience.
The free standing structure provides 50 seats indoor and 80 outdoor. The modular construction allows for additional extensions to the building and a variety of unique configurations in order to take advantage of each specific location. The structure is lifted from the ground, so the foundation may be unique to the site and not impact the modular system.
