![Sub-zero restaurant](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2024/03/raw-almond-restaurant-pearce-hero-852x479.jpg)
Pearce+ creates temporary sub-zero restaurant in Canada
UK architecture studio Pearce+ and Canadian designer Joe Kalturnyk have created a temporary inflatable restaurant for subzero temperatures in Winnipeg, Canada.
The barrel-vaulted restaurant has space for 48 guests dining in temperatures as low as -30 degrees Celsius during the 10th annual RAW:almond fine dining food festival, which celebrates both Canadian cuisine and the harsh winter.
![Inflatable restaurant in Winnipeg](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2024/03/pearce-raw-almond-restaurant-canada_dezeen_2364_col_0-852x1278.jpg)
Each year, the food festival commissions the construction of a temporary structure that responds to its environment and incorporates sustainable reuse.
"[The shelter] mirrors the ethos of the food served within by minimizing waste, discovering elegance in simplicity, creatively celebrating local identity, and incorporating a global outlook," said the team.
![Vaulted dining room](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2024/03/pearce-raw-almond-restaurant-canada_dezeen_2364_col_10-852x568.jpg)
Pearce+, based in Herfordshire and London, constructed the 220-square metre (2,370-square foot) restaurant in just a few weeks, and it was in use for 22 days early in 2024.
The snow-surrounded structure had a cruciform plan with a 140-square metre (1,500-square foot) vaulted dining room that contained two linear tables.
![Custom inflatable restaurant](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2024/03/pearce-raw-almond-restaurant-canada_dezeen_2364_col_2-852x1278.jpg)
Employing a Diagrid framework, the vault was constructed from 18-meter-long, 15-millimetre reinforced steel bars.
"These bars were bundled in groups of three, with varying plywood spacers, to create exceptionally lightweight trusses," the team said.
![Reflective foil interior panels](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2024/03/pearce-raw-almond-restaurant-canada_dezeen_2364_col_7-852x1278.jpg)
The team – with the help of inflatable specialists at Inflate Ltd – developed custom inflatable panels that mitigated the potential pressure to decrease the cold temperature's lower air density. It was stretched over the framework.
The diamond-shaped panels featured a gold-coloured foil layer that reflected heat into the space.
![Restaurant entrance](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2024/03/pearce-raw-almond-restaurant-canada_dezeen_2364_col_4-852x568.jpg)
Along the ridge line, the gold panels were swapped with transparent ones, offering a view to the snowy sky.
The panels were connected with Velcro – rather than glue due to the extreme temporal variation – and were disassembled and stored for future uses.
![Rectangular kitchen](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2024/03/pearce-raw-almond-restaurant-canada_dezeen_2364_col_14-852x568.jpg)
Capping each end of the dining area were trapezoidal buttressing structures, designed to resist strong winds and offer emergency egress.
Festival goers entered through a smaller vaulted lobby tunnel at the centre of the plan. A gabled wooden vestibule transitioned into the dining area.
Directly behind the structure was the rectangular kitchen.
Separated by a small hallway, the kitchen was constructed with a Structurally Insulated Panels (SIP) flat-pack and outfitted with high-quality appliances.
![Rectangular dining table](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2024/03/pearce-raw-almond-restaurant-canada_dezeen_2364_col_8-852x697.jpg)
The structure was meant to be a demonstration of ways to conserve space by utilising temporary structures.
"I think it's necessary to start re-envisioning how we use space, for what and for how long," said RAW:almond co-founder Joe Kalturnyk.
"In the beginning I was interested in seeing if you can temporarily build a city within a city – and what better way to test the idea than with food? RAW:almond was a huge leap – would people embrace the winter and eat outdoors? Would they do it on a frozen river? And ultimately, could we even pull this off?"
In 2015, the RAW:almond pop-up restaurant was constructed on the surface of a frozen river with an X-shaped plan lying over the connection between the Assiniboine and Red rivers.
![Pop-up restaurant interior](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2024/03/pearce-raw-almond-restaurant-canada_dezeen_2364_col_13-852x1278.jpg)
Also in Winnipeg, Canadian studio KPMB revealed a horticultural centre with a Fibonacci spiral roof.
The photography is by Simeon Rusnak.
RAW:almond 2024 took place from 24 January to 18 February. For more events, talks and exhibitions involving architecture and design visit Dezeen Events Guide.
Project credits:
Project founders: Joe Kalturnyk & Mandel Hitzer
Architect/designer: Pearce+ and Joe Kalturnyk
Architect of record: AtLrg Architecture
Project management: Joe Kalturnyk
Structural engineers: Wolfrom Engineering
Inflatable specialists: Inflate
Visualisations: Pearce+
Construction: RAW:Almond team, Pearce+ and Hi-Rise