ABOUT

Lay's Kitchen began with the simplest possible question: what happens when you design from the potato itself? We filled the studio with potatoes, cutting boards, and craft materials, deconstructing and reconstructing the root like an architectural form-finding exercise. Those explorations led us to louver-inspired architecture, where layered slices evolved into flowing timber slats that undulate organically, balancing structure with softness while creating opportunities for modular construction. Potato vine-inspired greenery weaves through the form, adding texture, depth, and a subtle nod to the crop's origins.
The slatted exterior constantly changes as visitors move around it, revealing glimpses of the activity within and rewarding exploration from every angle. The result is an object that feels alive, equally sculptural from a distance and richly detailed up close.
The greatest challenge was carving a fully code-compliant commercial kitchen from within this sculptural shell. Every organic gesture on the exterior concealed an incredibly disciplined interior. Behind the flowing timber shell sits a commercial kitchen engineered to rigorous commercial kitchen standards, proving that expressive architecture and operational performance do not need to exist in opposition. Rather than allowing stainless steel to dominate, the interior was warmed with honey-toned finishes, culinary props, regional ingredients, and handcrafted details that celebrate cooking as much as architecture.
Engineered as four crane-installed modules with integrated technical infrastructure, the structure is crowned by a classic illuminated channel-letter Lay's sign that acts as a beacon, drawing guests in from afar. Designed with longevity in mind, the structure was created to live beyond a single event, demonstrating how thoughtful experiential design can embrace both adaptability and reuse.
More than a branded structure, Lay's Kitchen transformed an everyday ingredient into architecture, balancing sculpture and function, warmth and precision, permanence and portability. Designed to evolve beyond a single moment, it demonstrates how experiential design can tell a brand story through materiality, craft, and the spaces people remember long after they leave.