Excerpt: Fuel Station + McDonald’s is a recreational project designed by the architectural firm Khmaladze Architects. Given the central location and, therefore, the importance of the site, it was decided to give back as much area as possible for recreation to the city by limiting the footprint of the building and vehicular circulation. This resulted in one volume with all programs compressed within. Spaces are composed so that two major programs – vehicle services and dining- are isolated from one another, both physically and visually so that all operations of fuel station are hidden from the view of the restaurant’s customers.
Project Description
[Text as submitted by Architect] The project is located in one of the newly urbanized parts of the seaside city of Batumi, Georgia. It includes a fuels station, McDonald’s, recreational spaces, and a reflective pool.
Given the central location and, therefore, the importance of the site, it was decided to give back as much area as possible for recreation to the city by limiting the footprint of the building and vehicular circulation. This resulted in one volume with all programs compressed within.
Spaces are composed so that two major programs – vehicle services and dining- are isolated from one another, both physically and visually so that all operations of fuel station are hidden from the view of the restaurant’s customers.
Because of the predefined, small building footprint, most supporting and utility spaces are grouped and located on the ground level to be close to all technical access points.
The public space of the restaurant starts from the lobby and its separate entrance on the ground floor. From where, as a way to naturally connect to the upper floor and to offer customers the experience of smooth transition between levels, the floor steps upwards. It creates inhabitable decks on intermediate levels to be occupied as dining spaces.
Part of the dining space offers a view of exterior water features. At the same time, the rest seamlessly transitions into an open-air terrace on the upper level. The terrace, enclosed from all sides to protect the space from outside noise, provides calm, open-air seating. The vegetation layer, which covers the cantilevered giant canopy of the fuel station, adds a natural environment and acts as an “ecological shield” for the terrace.
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