Dundee University Students’ Association commissioned Aim to generate designs for their existing cafeteria. In order to increase its use and profit, the brief was to create an attractive destination that encouraged students to dine and socialise in the space.

The existing space featured a variety of areas for using internet points, as well as the take away service point; however, none of these encouraged the use of the space as a social area. The proposal reconfigures the service point, increasing queue space whilst at the same time freeing up valuable space to create a useable dining area.

Aim developed a design that created the idea of a forest glade to compensate for the lack of natural light in the building-core location of the cafeteria. Picnic tables add to the outdoor look and provide affordable and robust furniture. Completing the aesthetic, inverted parasols are used as light diffusers, distracting from the unattractive concrete ceiling and providing a more intimate ambience by lowering the ceiling height and baffling excess noise.

Aim developed the ‘bite’ name and logo to help create memorable brand and to further enhance the café’s association as a destination rather than a through route.