Of course, a hospitality design consultant will be responding to the brief given by the client and in theory this will define what the client expects, where it is assumed that there be no surprises. The consultant will, in responding to the brief, suggest out of the box innovations and improvements that the client may or may not accept. Certainly it is the responsibility of a hospitality design consultant to incorporate the most advanced equipment and systems in a commercial kitchen or laundry because, in a sense, the day it opens it will be out of date through the availability of even newer systems and technology.
The best solution would have to be for the flexibility in the design to incorporate and adapt to new opportunities that may arise in the future.
But it is the basic idea of the hotel or the restaurant food, beverage, laundry & the heart of house that is being questioned and how to approach the design of the next generation of hotel or the restaurant food, beverage, laundry & the heart of house and service.
How do we use the evolved technology of robotics, materials handling, process control and artificial intelligence and so on to rethink the way that a kitchen could be?
One way is to look at other industries, not necessarily those associated in any way with hotels or restaurant to see if any technology and systems are transferable. One instance could be the apparel making industry which is also labor intensive and has developed innovations in conveyors and materials handling which might be adapted for use.
A benefit of taking ideas and concepts from other industries is that the technology would be fully developed and therefore generally reliable and affordable.
Is the design of the hotel or the restaurant food, beverage, laundry & the heart of house the natural result of the meal, or services being produced, or service provided or is it a continuing evolution? In which case what is the next stage of the evolution and how do we get there?
It has to be the role of hospitality design consultant to question the blinkers on approach and the accepted norms. Because something has always been that way is an exceptionally good reason for logically thinking that it must be the time to change adapt to the change while keeping the return on investment always in sight.
Clients & hotel or Restaurant brands must encourage experimentation and accept that designs must evolve proving that highly qualified hands on hospitality design consultants must get considered & appointed, to ensure raising the bar of bench-marking.