MILK BUN Restaurant / Rabih Geha Architects
Text description provided by the architects. MILK BUN Qatar designed by Rabih Geha Architects for Gastronomica is a bold way to invoke tradition and marks the company’s third outpost of its hit, tech-oriented Fast Casual concept.
Three pillars prop up the MILK BUN brand and help it fulfill its promise of delivering the future of premium fast food: an appealing and accessible menu of its signature made-to-order savory and sweet items, a seamless user experience centered around fast-track tech; and a saucy, sensational look that speaks to the younger generations.
The multi-award-winning architecture and design studio was called to enact the third chapter, resulting in an avant-garde experience that disrupts the counter-service scene. Rabih Geha Architects did not follow any particular hierarchy in designing the Doha branch of the restaurant chain. They gave equal weight instead to each element echoing Gastronomica’s Total Dining Experience, the principle coined by the owners-operators of MILK BUN.
Located in Place Vendome Mall in Doha, MILK BUN Qatar announces itself through a large façade beyond which pink-infused cementitious walls and ceiling melt into the concrete flooring. The bakery is discernible through a holographic window, highlighting the brand’s trademark freshly baked buns and cookies being prepared throughout the day.
The restaurant boasts an indoor dining area clocking in at 376 sqm and a 160 sqm terrace accessible through the restaurant or independently from a side entrance. Both outfits share the same look and feel with the addition of greenery and pink sunshades on the terrace.
Inside, Rabih Geha Architects accentuated the height of the ceiling by fragmenting the wall finish into two skins, a smooth concrete upper shell, and a tiled, curved cementitious lower shell. Two concrete pillars were drawn to display the MILK BUN totem tins and create a meandering path within the restaurant or out onto the terrace. A series of bespoke drum-shaped lights mounted to the ceiling mirror the pillars on the ground.
The restaurant’s interior is divided between the cookies and soft serve counter, a burger counter, a pickup counter, a live oven and baking area, and a dining hall. Winding pink leather banquettes designed for MILK BUN Qatar by Rabih Geha Architects make the bulk of the seating area, supplemented with black metal and terrazzo tables and Torno chairs by +Halle.
The dessert’s counter is decked with hologram iridescent tiles at the base and highlighted by a linear lighting suspension above. The pick-up counter is made from concrete and separates the dining area from the action-packed kitchen clearly visible at the rear. After putting in their order through the self-service kiosks parked at the shopfront pillar, customers get to experience chicken, burgers, fries, sides and more being prepared from scratch behind the burger counter or through a glass window at the entrance.
MILK BUN’s identity is plastered across the entire space where the dominant pastel pink is offset by sleek neutral-toned concrete and finished with leather and black steel details. Together they represent the spirited essence of the MILK BUN brand and convey Gastronomica’s core values of authenticity, quality, and transparency.