Patrick Norguet’s Furniture Slated for McDonald’s

by Laura B. Weiss | Thursday, December 27, 2012 | 1 Comment

Patrick Norguet's chairs and tables for Alias installed in a McDonald's in Bordeaux, France.

When you think fast food, it’s most likely burgers and fries—not inventive design—that comes to mind. But McDonald’s, the worldwide fast food giant, is upgrading the look of many of its European units with new outdoor furniture by French designer Patrick Norguet, who is collaborating on the project with Italian design firm Alias.

The modular furnishings, blue-gray in color and composed of 18 different elements, will be installed in outdoor areas in McDonald’s restaurants in France, Italy and the Netherlands. An outpost in Bordeaux was the first to be outfitted with the tables and chairs this past July. Six additional patios in cities in the north France will also be fitted with the sheet metal tables and chairs. Altogether, Alias says approximately 150 outdoor spaces will receive upgrades in the next two to three years.

Norguet's two-person tables and chairs for Alias and McDonald's.

The goal of the project is to assemble a set of tables, chairs, windscreens and other pieces that can be configured in a variety ways. “Not quite out nor quite in the terrace is experienced as an extension of the restaurant, a separate space for a different experience, “ Norguet wrote about the project on his web site.

The outfitted McDonald's in Bordeaux.

Constructed of perforated sheet metal, the chairs rest on a concrete base. Smaller tables, also of sheet metal, sit on cast iron bases, while larger ones, configured to accommodate as many as six people, rest atop steel bases. Canopies to shelter diners during bad weather, aluminum barriers, lighting, steel ashtrays, bins with Corian tops, and irregularly shaped flower pots will complete the suite of outdoor pieces.

“For this project and for each of my projects, I wanted to give great attention to the final use [and] draw a quality space that fits into the time that meets the demands and requirements specific to McDonalds,” Norguet said.