CJ’s Restaurant and Wine bar
My final project for uni is called exposure. This project has enabled me to create my own brief and therefore, provided me with a lot of opportunities. This year has been full of highs and lows and has completely changed the way I view life. Unfortunately, I lost my Gramps during 2020 which affected me hugely mentally. To process my grief, I decided to use my Grandparents Restaurant and wine bar as my project brief. CJ’s was always spoken about during my upbringing and was a huge success during its time. The 1980s was a fantastic period for my Grandparents. They opened CJ’s Restaurant serving exceptional Cordon Bleu cooking as well as outstanding wine. CJ’s was situated in Newcastle Upon Tyne and was incredibly popular in its day. It resided in a Victorian House, spanning three floors. Like most buildings within the city, the original building was designed by architect Richard Grainger. I intend to redesign CJ’s Restaurant and wine bar, incorporating its original textures and aesthetics, whilst incorporating a contemporary and stylish twist.
In 1995 my grandparents retired and moved to Dorset, closing CJ’s, and moving on. I intend to relocate CJ’s to Dorset, modernizing the interior design of the space, thus ensuring that those living in the Dorset area can appreciate the outstanding cooking and wine tasting that my grandparents were renowned for. I have chosen to relocate the space to Brewery Square in Dorchester, Dorset and is the main social hub for the Dorchester community.
LOCATION: 23 Weymouth Ave, Dorchester, Dorset, DT1 1QR
Two things that have driven this project is my Gramp’s concept of a ‘wine cave’ and my Granny’s obsession with a particular Sanderson wallpaper. These concrete ideas are the foundations of the space and will take centre stage in the aesthetic and structure of the design. Whilst the ‘cave’ is the main concept of this space I have struggled to incorporate this idea into a modern setting that does not have stone arched structures you would usually see in a cave. Although this was a struggle, I decided to use this idea and modernise it to make it suitable for the host building, including the use of darker tones and textures in materials such as wood, metal, and stone. To obtain the arched formation seen in cave structures, I started to draw curves that would be made from wood and/or metal. Due to my connection with my chosen brief, I was concerned that it would affect me emotionally, however, I hope that my passion and drive for this project will allow me to produce high-quality visuals of a space that is very important to me. I believe that during this critical stage of the project I have fully engaged with my chosen brief and explored every possible avenue which could be taken to make CJ’s come to life. If I had to complete this section of the project again in the future I would tell myself not to worry about producing an actual ‘cave’ but to use this concept and turn it into something unique and different based on my own perception of the word ‘cave’.
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