Form follows function

Great article in the S.F. Chron this past week.
Its about a newly redesigned outdoor pizza oven.

I’m one of those conflicted environmentalists.
On one hand I love the taste of a pizza , tofu or a fresh salmon cooked in a wood fired oven but hate the amount of particulate matter that spews into the air making it unhealthful for many to breath clean air.

At this juncture, I’m going with the mantra, ‘everything in moderation’.
Most homeowners who have a wood fired oven don’t use it every night.
It’s more like a special event when it is fired up, so it doesn’t happen frequently in a private setting.

Below is a photo of a newly redesigned Nido wood fired oven designed by Mark Rogero for former Chez Panisse chef Nico Monday.

From random photos

The willow around the base gives it a ‘nest like’ feeling.
That part I like, but from a long term durable and sustainable perspective, I would tend to go towards a design that was both functional ( wood holding capaciy) and durable ( won’t decompose over a season)

Here is one we worked on in Napa Valley with storage provided.

From Outdoor Kitchens and Dining areas

I get that Mark and Nico were trying to pair down the bulky size of the stove, but I think they lost sight of the basic need that the best crafted and functional designs follow the tried and true recipe that form follows function.
In their beautiful design they lost the ability to easliy store wood within the foot print of the stove as well as store the smaller pizza paddles .

Their end product looks great though , no denying that !