The first review on a project with multiple critiques always feels like a testing of the waters. Usually a first review lets you see a little more clearly where a professor wants your project to go. The first Studio V review last Friday was a little bit different. We were not only presenting to professors but also to professionals and persons who would be using our kitchen.
Different professionals, 10 in all, attended the first review. First was Robert Stehling, award winning chef and owner of Hominy Grill in Charleston. His insight into the art of kitchen layout, code and feasibility pointed us in the direction of Berlin’s Restaurant Supply for our kitchen layout plans and supply. Next were Dale and Jennifer, volunteers at Sweetgrass Gardens, the site for our project. They gave us insight into what kind of clients we would be serving and ideas about the general size that the kitchen needed to be. George, the owner of the land, was also in attendance. George was interested in the project as a way to process food to distribute it to soup kitchens and food banks, as well as trying to find a way to make the kitchen accessible to schools for field trips. He also suggested that a bathroom ought to be added to the floor plan. Sitting next to George were John, Shane and Heather. They were all students of Harry Crissy, the Clemson Extension Agent who wrote the grant to present to Boeing to fund our project. John, Shane and Heather were interested in the module based part of the project. They were curious how it would connect to its surroundings in a new location and whether or not the kitchens layout could be redesigned to allow for other things, such as meat production. Harry Crissy also attended and gave his insight on possible construction methods and design ideas relating to the Department of Health and Environmental Control codes. Last was Michael Branch, a representative of Sunstore Solar. Sunstore Solar is a company based in Mount Pleasant that fits solar technology into the construction of new projects or onto existing buildings. He is interested in helping us cut the power costs of the kitchen and attempting to get the kitchen off the grid completely.
David Pastre, Studio V professor, and Ray Huff, CAC.C director, were also in attendance and gave us there thoughts both during and after the review. Their comments ranged from design to the dynamics of the review and how we could have presented our study better.