Venue Design Evaluation And Condition Assessment

Alignment and Symmetry

The fundamentals of any good design support the left alignment of the designed area. The layout plan of the venue gives us an idea that it has an entry in the left side and left side also has two windows. This creates the perception of the left alignment.

Symmetry

The window on the right does not follow the principle of symmetry, it is a large window, however, and the left side has two windows. On a subconscious level, this imparity in the size of the windows kills the element of symmetry. This lack of symmetry can bring down the aesthetics of the place even after nice interior decoration efforts (Regina S Baraban, 2010).

Space

The place deals with economic solutions, they always need a heavy customer inflow. The occupancy timings of the facility will remain high because it is a food joint. The current layout plan perfectly creates the sense of space. It has a capacity to accommodate 40 chairs and 10 tables. The main entrance on the left side demarks a neat and clean customer activity area. An invisible line of the entrance creates this activity area. If the active area is demarked then customers feel more at home and less movement of the passing people makes it a comfort zone for them (Ching, 2014).

Proximity

Two windows on the left walls create a sense of space and create a sense of proximity to the external environment. While designing for a public place any designer should never forget the element of the proximity with the ambiance or the environment. This place is opposite Stanford Railway station. Openness inside alongside the proximity with the ambiance can make it a part of the Railway station and increase its business prospects quite considerably.

Achievement of the Intended purpose of the design

When we design a venue for a specific purpose or the operation, we should never forget that in the end, the carrying capacity is the most important factor. While designing an executive lounge the concept of the space differs because here an individual seeks for his or her personal space. The major difference between the airfares of economy class and executive class in a flight is dependent on the space that they are offering.

When we study the needs of Mule Café then we find that this place is bound to attract a big number of customers during any given hour. Most of the eating joints also feel a shortage of space during the rush hours or lunch periods. In the current layout, plan space is utilized judiciously. It has the capacity to accommodate 40 people at any given moment. A good interior design and ergonomics associated with the chairs and tables can increase the capacity of the place and add value to its aesthetics (Julius Panero, 2014).

A general overview of the venue also gives us this idea that one-third of the entire carpet area is used as the customer’s activity area. This setup also makes it a wise layout plan. The placements of the windows are not good in the terms of the aesthetics because they deny symmetry. However, these windows are serving the purpose of the ventilation well and this factor also adds to the carrying capacity of the venue quite considerably.

Space

On the scale of the objectives of the stakeholders

While considering the list of the stakeholders for any given café we find three major stakeholders in the process.

1. The counter staff ( Reception)
2. Functional staff ( Kitchen and Cleaning)
3. Customer Area

In the current layout plan, the interests of the first and third stakeholders are well taken care of. The place has the best allocation for the customer area. Even though there are 40 chairs and ten tables, still the movement of the customers is not restricted by any possible standards. The reception area or the area where the customers will place orders and transactions will take place is justified, however, certain designs of the elements can be added where the counter staff can display more products and increase the visibility of their products (Piotrowski, 2016). Mule café deals in homemade cookies and other products that they process at a remote kitchen this decreases the demand of the area for the functional staff. A certain area should be allocated for the functional staff where they can stand and rush to meet the needs of the customers.

Other Considerations

There are two phases of any given business, in the first phase we meet our capacities to deliver and find a breakeven point. In the second stage, we seek for a capacity expansion. The current design certainly lacks this capacity expansion part. It is a simple design with area-based limitations. This is why if the café owners will plan a capacity expansion then they need to work hard on the products because in the terms of the area consumption this café has reached to its saturation point. Any other amendment in the base design or the floor plan can destroy the basic balance of the design where they are utilizing the maximum capacity of the area under a fresh environment (Greene, 2013).

Part 2 

Venue Condition Assessment

The venue condition assessment of any given commercial place should be done on three merits.

1. Visual Condition
2. Condition supporting the smooth functionality
3. The condition of the venue to handle SOS situations
4. The Rational Behind a Venue Condition Assessment 

Venue condition assessment sets up the guidelines associated with the utility of the spaces with respect to the functionality of any given area, space or venue. Planners and executers assess the feasibility of the venue for the movement of people and other machinery (Schmedes, 2015). The condition assessment of a parking garage will be always different from an indoor stadium. Inside the garage, they will try to utilize the space for stacking the cars with moving passages. Inside a stadium, they will define the sports activity area and pavilions differently. Any sports stadium is a place where the masses flock in; in order to handle the SOS conditions, they also make provisions for security arrangements as well. In the current case we have only three stakeholders; however, in the case of a stadium, it may shoot up to ten or twelve (Ligang Shi, 2017).

The determination of the peak capacity of any venue is important. Venus assessment involves a lot of statistics. For instance, we are required to calculate the capacity of the entry and exit ports in accordance with the carrying capacity or the peak capacity of the venue. When they tell you that a certain stadium or an auditorium has the capacity for the seating of 10,000 people then they are also calculating its capacity to evacuate the stadium under SOS conditions (Makower, 2014).

Proximity

The exercise of Venue assessment also gives us insights connected to the utilization of the area as well. Time of the stay of the people also plays a crucial role. A cricket match may last for one entire working day. On the other hand, a football match lasts only for maximum two hours. Accommodating the crowd for two hours and accommodating the same crowd for ten hours is different. In the latter case, the number of the utility areas will increase drastically (Sawyer, 2013).

The Challenges while going for VDA

We are living in a world where vertical expansion is solving the problems of space. The natural rise in the population is creating a deficit of operational area at major localities. This is why most of the space owners want their spaces to be designed for multiple purposes (Makower, 2014). For instance, they want a workspace station that can be converted into a mini-conference hall. This forms the biggest challenge in front of the designers and VDA experts help them in sorting out this challenge (Smith, 2015). 

Benefits of VDA

The carrying capacity of the venue and functionality needs may vary on various occasions, any VDA appraisal always has this power to access these demands in advance and support the designers in adding some additional pointers in the layout plans and the basic designs of the venue (Graham, 2009).

The condition of the Venue after the second round of VDA exercise

The previous exercise of VDA (Assessment 1) was aimed at checking the utilization of the space and the conditions of the amenities and other facilities that are present at the venue. On second thoughts, when we see the same venue on the merits of the elements of the design then we find that an area for the functional staff should be added in the facility, apart from it the equipment to meet fire hazard and electrical fire hazard are not present at the venue (Knowles, 2012). A medical kit should also be present at the venue because these are the norms set for any commercial establishment where public movement is common. Based on our observation we are adding some fields in the form and filling them.

Recommendations based on the VDA findings 

1. During the course of the VDA, while having a look at the design of the building from the perspective of the stakeholders we find that functionality area for the supporting staff is lacking. On the left side, the wall opposite the entrance can be dedicated to them. This area can also be termed as the service area of the café where the job of basic cleanings can be done. We can also store cleaning equipment in the same area. Apart from it, this area can also be useful for a smooth functioning of the cleaning staff.
2. The second round of the VDA gave us this warning sign that the place is lacking certain important things like fire safety equipment and first aid box. Fire safety equipment should be added in three areas.
3. The customer area where people can have an easy access to it during the emergency.
4. At the reception where staff can immediately get an access to it.
5. At the functional area where the cleaning staff can get an access to it.

We are recommending three sets of the equipment because during the peak hours this place may entertain more than 40 customers at any given time. We don’t have a separate provision for the fire exit. This is why it is wise to have more equipment on the premises.

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Julius Panero, M. Z. (2014). Human Dimension and Interior Space: A Source Book of Design Reference Standards. New York City: Watson Guptill Publication.

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Sawyer, T. H. (2013). Facility Planning and Design for Health, Physical Activity, Recreation, and Sport. Urbana: Sagamore Publishing.

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Smith, A. (2015). Events in the City: Using public spaces as event venues. London: Routledge.

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