McDonald's opens 'kitchen in the sky'

news.com.au

19 May, 2018 09:42 PM2 mins to read

McDonald's at Sydney Airport with a see-through 'kitchen in the sky'. Photo/Ross Honeysett

McDonald's has unveiled its fancy new Sydney Airport store, where burgers and fries are delivered to customers via conveyor belt from a glowing yellow glass box dubbed its "kitchen in the sky".

The "Instagrammable" new restaurant features a see-through kitchen raised high above terminal one, with design firm Landini Associates briefed with creating an "iconic, memorable customer experience, like nothing seen before".

McDonald's at Sydney Airport with a see-through 'kitchen in the sky'. Photo/Ross Honeysett

"The McDonald's restaurant in T1 International has become one of the most Instagrammed places at Sydney Airport," said general manager of retail Glyn Williams.

"And why wouldn't it? It's a piece of theatre, full of colour, movement and surprises. People have started arriving early for their flights just to see it."

Josh Bannister, senior development director at McDonald's Australia, said the new restaurant was unique in Australia.

"Working with limited space, we needed to be creative in how we designed the restaurant to present our customers with the best possible dining experience," he said.

"Placing the kitchen above the counter, while visually stimulating, was structurally complex, as was ensuring it could deliver its wares efficiently and quickly to the customers below.

"To answer this, we combined kiosk ordering technology and a 'transporter' delivery system. Although we're always open to exploring different opportunities, our focus remains on freestanding restaurants with a drive-through."

Mark Landini, creative director at Landini Associates, said the inspiration for the "transporter" system came from similar setups in Asia, where many multistorey restaurants operated on a small footprint with the kitchen at the top.

"The space we were offered was quite small, but we saw there was a lot of room in the volume," he said.

"We asked Sydney Airport if they wouldn't mind us using it. They were delighted of course because it meant they could rent us room which previously didn't exist."

Mr Landini, who has worked with McDonald's for three years on a number of its flagship stores globally, including Hong Kong, Moscow, Madrid, London and its headquarters in Chicago, said the theme of his design was the "lack of theme".