Origins of Tayer
The story of the Tayer station started many years before Monica and I actually opened our venue, Tayēr in 2019. Having worked behind poorly designed bars all my life I grew more and more frustrated about the working conditions my teams had to endure, I was constantly getting frustrated because drinks took too long to make. Years in the industry working behind poorly designed bars has given me problems with my back and I knew we had to radically change things.
When we were comparing illustrations of bar stations from the turn of the century with what we work with nowadays it became clear that modern cocktail bar needs are entirely different working spaces. Inspired by the flexible kitchen set up at the original Noma in Copenhagen and loving the station at The Aviary in Chicago we slowly started to brew our own ideas of what a modern bar should look like.
We set ourselves to design the project around flexibility, efficiency and storage maximisation. Whilst undertaking the research for the perfect station we came across an article about design that suggested that all great designs are always inspired by nature; a term referred to as biomimicry. From bullet speed trains inspired by kingfisher birds, to wind turbines inspired by whales and air-conditioning systems inspired by termites we instantly knew this was it.
Cross–referencing flexibility, efficiency and storage brought our attention to the hexagon. The hexagon is the most perfect shape that appears in nature, a shape that is completely flexible, the most efficient building structure and perfectly interchangeable. More than this, one hexagon stores more bottles than you can fit any other shape. For us this was a revelation.
“The hexagon is the most perfect shape that appears in nature, a shape that is completely flexible, the most efficient building structure and perfectly interchangeable.”
The Tayer station is a modular system that allows for total flexibility. Equipment and tools can be placed where they need to be based on the ingredients used, concept in place, season, or time of the year whilst providing the user with complete freedom on how to set up the station regardless of if the bartender is left-handed, or right-handed, no matter if you prefer to work in a linear, or circular way.
The system allows the operator to increase the size of the ice well in summer months and run a hot water bath in the winter. Each hexagon can serve a different purpose and various inserts can house different types of tools. Each station has electric points and the option to install a data point.
After working on the station since May 2019 in our London venue, Tayer + Elementary, I can confirm the station is everything we ever hoped it could be. The flexibility allows our team members to set their station up exactly as they need it to perfectly execute our progressive concept. We absolutely love it.
Written by Alex Kratena & Monica BergSHARE THIS ARTICLE
