A community innovation, the “Community Chef” facility provides meals to residents isolated by age, illness or disability; a safe low-energy industrial workspace.  Catering to over 20 councils with more than a million meals a year, the project maintains independence for older citizens or persons with a disability. 

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The project uses a new low-waste manufacturing system with vastly-improved ergonomics, pioneered in France by specialist food process/kitchen system architect François Tesnière. As the Australian project architects, WBa designed an innovative building envelope to house the two functional components of process area and conventional administrative space using singular cladding materials to identify each, differentiating between accessible and hygiene-controlled zones.

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A vibrant administration area signals to the public from behind a landscaped buffer. The rear production area recedes, clad in dark panels. The two areas are united by a skylit viewing corridor, ensuring transparency between. A singular roof with deep serrated profile covers all, literally floating over the facility. Screening combined with vertical landscaping irrigated by stormwater collected on-site further modulates light and views.