Inside the world's most high-design fast-food restaurants

[Harvey Specter]

Both McD's locations are über cool.

By now it's clear that high design can arrive in some pretty strange packages — gingerbread houses and dog houses included — so it shouldn't be such a surprise that fast food chains like McDonald's and Burger King are keen to jump aboard the bandwagon, too.

By hiring design firms to revamp their stores, fast food brands refresh their image and get some press, while customers get a pretty place to eat some less-than-pretty food. It's a win-win if you ignore the whole obesity and diabetes thing.

Anyway, here's one example (pictured above): the Starbucks in Fukuoka, Japan, designed by architect Kengo Kuma. Kuma's timbered interiors and glass storefront make the whole place look a bit french-fry-like, which is odd considering it was designed for the worldwide peddler of coffee and free wi-fi. But, metaphors aside, the place has a trendy aesthetic.

↑ Perhaps inspired by the astringent land it was built on, PK Arkitektar designed this KFC in Keflavík, Iceland, to be a minimalist horizontal block punctuated by rows of muted skylights and a wall of glass.

↑ When granddaddy of fast foods McDonald's teamed up with furniture designer Patrick Norguet, it was clear the burger eaters of France were destined to supersize in some snazzy interiors. The designer didn't disappoint with his first commission: The McDonald's in Villefranche-de-Lauragais incorporates Mondrian-style geometry, concrete walls and plywood ceilings.

↑ Burger King commissioned design firm Outofstock to swankify a handful of restaurants in Southeast Asia. Above is the club-like atmosphere of Singapore's Burger King Garden Grill, which features lounge seating, wooden tabletops, cushy-looking ottomans, and walls color-blocked in earth tones.

↑ Ever looking to disguise its corporate roots, Starbucks created a funky shipping-container coffee shop in Tukwila, Wash. The so-called Reclamation Drive-Thru is an attempt to show off a feat of sustainability.

↑ Design firm Hufft Projects incorporated textbook midcentury modern features—expansive glass panes and low-slung horizontals included—into the design of this Andy's Frozen Custard, in Springfield, Mo.

↑ This lovely, down-home-style McDonald's sits in a 19th-century Georgian mansion, thanks to a group of hell-raising preservationists who rallied to save the building in the 1980s, when McDonald's bought the property with intentions to tear it all down. In turn, McDonald's restored the place to its 1920s glory, circular veranda, gingerbread milieu, and all.

↑ In Amsterdam, Starbucks crafted a cafe that, uh, drips with an upcycled, Restoration Hardware-esque vibe—complete with wall coverings fashioned from inner tubes and bicycle tires and lots of salvaged oak. It's lovely, for sure, but what's even cooler is knowing that it was once a vault in a historic Dutch bank.

↑ This McDonald's in Melbourne, Australia, was once the United Kingdom Hotel, a Art Deco design conceptualized by James Hastie Wardrop and built in 1937. The curvy balconies, bands of colored brick, and verticality of the facade is enough for the Art Deco Buildings blog to dub it "The Most Beautiful McDonald's in the World."

Inside the world's most high-design fast-food restaurants - Yahoo! Homes

[predom]

Cool idea, however fast food attracts scummy people and the homeless. Hard to keep these nice places nice
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[Gridlock]

Burger King needs to do something. Their stores skipped a generation on renovations and its showing.

Their sales are way down too.

[LUUUUUUUU]

In Canada

[nns]

Originally Posted by Gridlock

Burger King needs to do something. Their stores skipped a generation on renovations and its showing.

Their sales are way down too.

Yea all bks look hideous. The washrooms make me sick. The bk on main and terminal is awful.
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[SkinnyPupp]

Originally Posted by Gridlock

Burger King needs to do something. Their stores skipped a generation on renovations and its showing.

Their sales are way down too.

Haven't been to BK in Canada in 5 or 6 years, but the ones here in HK are pretty nice. Way more expensive than McDonalds though, and locations are starting to close down

[inv4zn]

There aren't that many either.

The only reason to ever go to BK is for their Whopper Wednesdays.

I have one across the street, and yes, it feels like a McDonalds from 1995.

[Tim Budong]

Originally Posted by nns

Yea all bks look hideous. The washrooms make me sick. The bk on main and terminal is awful.
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never go to that BK on welfare wednesdays, especially that one

[Lomac]

I've been to the McDonald'sin Paris. its surprisingly nice.

[m3thods]

Originally Posted by Lomac

I've been to the McDonald'sin Paris. its surprisingly nice.

Most McDonalds renovations here and in the US are very inviting now. Upstairs at the Willingdon main office is quite nice and "homey". Coming back from Portland, there were a few on the way that I ended up staying for a bit longer even when I had just planned to stay for 15 minutes to use their wifi.

On a side note- I was recently at the Kingsway/Vic one, and I thought they reno'd it smaller than the original. Anyone think the same?

If I had known about that cool container Starbucks in Tukwila earlier I would've paid it a visit.

[originalhypa]

Originally Posted by LUUUUUUUU

In Canada

In the Lower Mainland.

[Hondaracer]

The surrey Burger King (yea i know surrey lol) king George and 104th is litterally the most ghetto disgusting fast food I can recall and have the worst employees ever
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[lilaznviper]

Originally Posted by m3thods

Most McDonalds renovations here and in the US are very inviting now. Upstairs at the Willingdon main office is quite nice and "homey". Coming back from Portland, there were a few on the way that I ended up staying for a bit longer even when I had just planned to stay for 15 minutes to use their wifi.

On a side note- I was recently at the Kingsway/Vic one, and I thought they reno'd it smaller than the original. Anyone think the same?

If I had known about that cool container Starbucks in Tukwila earlier I would've paid it a visit.

i think they did 2 renos. before their store was huge then the first reno i remembered the store became smaller, then the last reno it looks a lot smaller again but a lot more open space i think.

[willystyle]

There is an Asian lady that works on the 2nd floor of McD at the Willingdon location that is super nice and friendly and greets everyone that comes upstairs. She works permanently upstairs to tidy and clean things up and chats with most customers, seems to know alot of them by face or by name. That location is definitely a step above the rest.

[JKam]

Originally Posted by willystyle

There is an Asian lady that works on the 2nd floor of McD at the Willingdon location that is super nice and friendly and greets everyone that comes upstairs. She works permanently upstairs to tidy and clean things up and chats with most customers, seems to know alot of them by face or by name. That location is definitely a step above the rest.

That's because it is/was the head office for the lower mainland.

Asian lady is pretty awesome too. Was cracking jokes with my friends when we were studying up there.

[kiwee]

Learned this in my interior design class. They make it look nicer because they want consumer to stay longer (almost like fine dining) and to add more aesthetic to it, they create fancy stuff in the ceiling..

Make it look nice = People will stay and pay more stuff.

[Not really racist!]

Originally Posted by willystyle

There is an Asian lady that works on the 2nd floor of McD at the Willingdon location that is super nice and friendly and greets everyone that comes upstairs. She works permanently upstairs to tidy and clean things up and chats with most customers, seems to know alot of them by face or by name. That location is definitely a step above the rest.

shes a very nice lady for sure..

as for renos in mcdonalds
usually seems smaller for customers because there needs to be more operation space for the workers themselves

king&vic has come a long from their shitty one lane drive thru / ugly dining area to pretty okay today

[LSF22]

kings/vic looks pretty decent, only issue I have is that it still has that stupid big ass speed bump or w/e the fuck it is

[bloodmack]

i don't care if it looks dated, you just can't beat an angry whopper. #bringbackangrywhoppers!!!

[LP700-4]

Originally Posted by Gridlock

Burger King needs to do something. Their stores skipped a generation on renovations and its showing.

Their sales are way down too.

Only one burger king i go to is the one on bridgeport off oak st bridge. Probably only newer one in Vancouver/Richmond.

Whoppers

Way bigger than a Big Mac and almost same price

[DanHibiki]

Originally Posted by inv4zn

There aren't that many either.

The only reason to ever go to BK is for their Whopper Wednesdays.

I have one across the street, and yes, it feels like a McDonalds from 1995.

So you live near PNE?