Restaurants and bars in concert halls, snacks and drinks in jazz clubs or festivals, BGM in cafés and restaurants... Although the scale and method may be different, the fact that music and food coexist in our everyday lives remains the same. This raises the main research question: “What is the relationship between the music-and-food experience offered by a music venue and the identity that this experience creates?” With hearing and taste as the key senses, the sensory experience of music venues will be explored. To answer the question, historical review and case study will be used as research methods. The historical review focusing on banquet culture will reveal the long relationship between music and food and its importance. Furthermore, the research will investigate, through case study, how music, food, and architecture interact in music venues with different city, connection, culture contexts.

The study site, Binckhorst, is evolving from an industrial area into an urban mixed-use residential-work area. The railroad, highway and body of water surrounding Binckhorst act as borders, turning the area into an isolated island of The Hague and an unpopular destination for cyclists or pedestrians. The main reason people go there is for work. Outside of work, the area offers limited options to the general public. The end goal of this study is to propose a music venue with food in Binckhorst. Music and food together will make visitors’ experience more special and memorable, and provide them with an abundance of sensory experience, making it a reason for people to visit and revisit.