O


pening a new restaurant in London is never an easy task, particularly given the vast number of


competitors. But when it’s the biggest Asian food hall in the capital, in the right area, and in a space conceived by leading architectural practices, worrying about the competition isn’t likely to be such a problem.


Bang Bang Oriental Foodhall, which takes its name from the popular Chinese dish Bang Bang Chicken, is situated on the major thoroughfare of Edgware Road in Colindale, north London, an area of rich ethnic diversity. It replaces Oriental City, which like Bang Bang Oriental provided a food market and a variety of eateries, as


well as a shopping complex. Food halls, combining varied and vibrant eating opportunities and retail, have been popping up all over the city in recent years – a cost- effective solution for both tenants pooling rents, and customers. Despite its popularity, Oriental City experienced financial struggles and was sold in the late 1990s after its owners declared bankruptcy. It was subsequently sold again in 2006 to a developer who planned to demolish it and build a housing development, school and DIY store on the site, but this was met with strong protest from both tenants of the building and the local east Asian community. “The whole food hall concept was very popular,” says


ADF APRIL 2018 WWW.ARCHITECTSDATAFILE.CO.UK


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