WERE YOU BORN IN A TENT: November 2013

Sunday 3 November 2013

HANNAH

141 Chapel St, St Kilda

Visited: 10th October 2013

Design: Palindromes? Let me ask this question. If you were to stand on one side of a door on the exterior of a building, then walk through the door to the interior of the building and look at the same door, are you still the same person or has something changed in you? Can I be two people and the same person at the same time? These are the questions I asked myself as I entered the door of HANNAH @ 141. Weird!!! You read it from the outside, you read it from the inside. Nothing has changed, except the perception of where you are. Are you opening the door to go in, (to go outside, in)? Or are you opening the door to go out, (to go inside, out)?....................WHAT!
For such a simple door it has created such complexity.
Black aluminium framing, full panel glass and a u-tube stainless steel handle, all standard characteristics of a shop front door. The clean lines and lack of clutter allow it to frame the interior of soft moon lamps and palms like a dream. The open is smooth with a soft close and click on the end. The metallic silver lettering is a nice touch with the capitals leading the mind to ponder, "are you reading it correctly, or is it reversed?" Pure fate that this door HANNAH should be at 141. Two palindromes working in unison.

Door resistance: 3

Closure mechanism: Hydraulic arm

Draft: Minimal

Squeak level: 0

Change return time: 10 sec

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.