WERE YOU BORN IN A TENT

Monday, 16 September 2013

ST ALI (North)

815 Nicholson St, Carlton North

Visited: 6th September 2013

Design: "Perfection comes when the eye and the hand are unified in sensation"
Charles D. Hebbick

I went for breakfast unaware of the beauty I was about to experience. The combination of Art Deco influences blended with Modernist aspects, flowed together like poetry through simplicity and symmetry. You couldn't ask for a more elegant entrance, I would have to say that the combined materials in this door are close to perfection. The white brick, the balance created by the two circular lights, the strength of the black steel frame doors, the slightly worn brass handle, a small touch of dark stained vertical timber and the grey banded trimming on the roof, I simply can not fault this door. The six glass panels appear to float lightly above the two steel panels at the base, grounding the entire design. To stand in front of this door is equivalent to watching the launch of The Royal Yacht Britannia, sheer beauty at its finest. As they say, "Less is more" and in this instance with no signage and no numbering, not even the opening hours are displayed. Jonathan Ive would lose his shit if he was to stand in front of this door. This is pure design that speaks for itself.

Door resistance: 3.5

Closure mechanism: Hydraulic arm

Draft: Minimal

Squeak level: 0

Change return time: 34sec

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PROFESSIONAL DOOR REVIEWER

Searching the world for the perfect door to eat behind.

First impressions are always important, especially for a restaurant or cafe. So many people are focusing on the food these days that I felt there was a hole in the reviews world. No one was looking at the most important thing, THE DOOR! Everyone complains when it is left open, death stares are exchange when the unsuspecting group of friends having a fun night enter the premises from the cold only to walk straight in and go straight to their table totally oblivious they have left the door wide open to allow an arctic strength gale force wind to cut through the previously warm interior. Like a scene from a western film where everyone in the premises stops what they are doing and cuts down the new comers with a deathly stare. Occasionally you will get the confident diner who gets up, walks across the restaurant and closes the door with a BANG! Just to let the new comers know they have done wrong and to NEVER, EVER DO IT AGAIN!!!!! This individual makes their way back to the table staring at the newcomers, just to make sure they got the message. The only problem is, is that 5 minutes later another group come in and do the same thing and he/she feels obliged to continually do this for the rest of the night.

Well hopefully this blog puts a light on the owners of these establishments and encourages them to lift their game and create doors that allow diners to sit and enjoy their meal, to give the diner an experience before they enter the building. It is also a thank you to the makers of quality doors who care about craftsmanship.

I have developed a scoring system based on,

DESIGN:

This is assessed by the materials the door is made from, whether the door is themed, cluttered or minimal and whether there is an element of surprise or not.

DOOR RESISTANCE: 1 to 5

1 = light push

5 = heavy push

CLOSURE MECHANISM: Manual, automatic or

hydraulic arm

DRAFT: Minimal, medium or high

SQUEAK LEVEL: 0 up to 5

0 = No squeak

5 = Ear piercing

Then the last assessment is the,

CHANGE RETURN TIME:

This is the amount of time it takes to get my change once I have given the waiter the money for the bill. Last impressions are always just as important as first.