WERE YOU BORN IN A TENT

Wednesday 2 October 2013

SAPA HILLS

112 Hopkins St, Footscray

Visited: 15th September 2013

Design: Like anybody who has been on an Antarctic expedition the first time you experience the majestic beauty of an iceberg floating precariously in the ocean with such grace defying physics, you can't help but be amazed and yet in awe of such a mass balancing like a skyscraper on a pin. This feeling surges in me whenever I come across a sheet of glass this size acting as a door with no support except for two pins on which it glides. I know it's possible, it's happening before my eyes, yet my mind can not accept this feat of engineering and physics. The fact that the complete shopfront is glass with no framework creates a seamless continuity of beauty. You almost feel as though you could be walking into a secret passage when opening the door. I like the exaggerated length of the stainless steel door handle, I feel emphasizes the size of the door. The square tubing however does not feel comfortable in the hand. Minor detail though. Minimal signage with a small push sign and some credit card stickers. The vinyl artwork works well and the font complements the interior. One minor design aesthetic fault though, why couldn't they have moved the open and closed sign down below HILLS. I know it's at eye level but it destroys the clean simplicity of this glass megalith by creating a busy cluster of clutter lapping in the central view of the door. Watching this door open and close was a constant source of wonderment and satisfaction.

Door resistance: 2.5

Closure mechanism: Hidden hydraulic

Draft: Minimal

Squeak level: 0

Change return time: 18 sec

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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.