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Bird feathers inform Bar Miller interior by Polonsky & Friends

New York design studio Polonsky & Friends has lined this tiny New York omakase restaurant with burl wood veneer panels, while its counters and cabinetry are coloured to resemble bird feathers.

Designed as a sister location of Rosella, an East Village sushi spot that opened in 2020, Bar Miller is located a few blocks away in Alphabet City.

Small restaurant with dark blue-green counters and burl wood walls — The compact Bar Miller space seats eight covers around a counter made from rare Avocatus stone

The owners brought back Polonsky & Friends to complete the interiors so that the two outposts could share the same “warm, welcoming energy”.

Although the menu borrows from traditional sushi craft, it’s not authentically Japanese, so the designers wanted to steer clear of any tropes that might deceive customers.

Burl wood veneer panels framed in white oak on the walls — Burl wood veneer panels on the walls are framed in white oak, matching the building’s original floors

“The design had to incorporate local and craft-centric elements and honour the food’s Japanese inspiration, but not fall into any folklore since the team isn’t Japanese and the menu is untraditional,” studio founder Anna Polonsky told Dezeen.

The restaurant only seats eight covers, which surround the open kitchen in the centre of the compact space.

Trio of panels with hand-painted wallpaper displaying bird feathers — Custom wallpaper hand-painted by Hollie M Kelley displays the feathers of an eastern rosella bird

Deep blue-green Avocatus stone – a rare quartzite with a leathered finish – forms the entire bar counter

A custom ceiling pendant by Madrid-based designer Pablo Bolumar is suspended above the counter like a string of pearly beads.

Blue-green counter with ceramic vase and flowers, in front of a wood-panelled wall — Pieces by several local designers are featured in the restaurant, including ceramic vases by Fefostudio

On the walls, panels of burl wood veneer are framed in white oak, which matches the refinished original parquet floors.

“We were able to sand back [the flooring] after it was hidden for years in the previous restaurant,” Polonsky said.

Glossy maroon kitchen cabinets — To contrast the blue-green dining area, kitchen cabinetry is coloured maroon as another nod to the rosella bird’s feathers

A trio of panels feature a custom wallpaper drawn by artist Hollie M Kelley, displaying the feathers of an eastern rosella bird.

Kelley also drew the icon for the sister restaurant, a western rosella, which has different colours in its plumage.

The maroon hues in the wallpaper are echoed on the cabinetry behind the kitchen counter, differentiating the food preparation area from the blue-green of the dining space.

Other details include a panel of vertical wood slats for storing plates above the sink and moulded-glass scones shaped like scallop shells.

Vertical wood slats provide spaces for storing dishes

The bar stools were crafted by Maderas Collective in Nicaragua and upholstered by Ecua in Queens, while ceramic vases were sourced from New York-based Fefostudio.

In the bathroom, green tiles laid in a herringbone pattern cover the walls and a rice paper pendant light hand-painted by Claire Dufournier hangs from the ceiling.

Bathroom featuring dark green tiles and a hand-painted rice paper pendant light — The bathroom features dark green tiles and a hand-painted rice paper pendant light

For those looking for more Japanese restaurants with notable interiors, New York City has plenty of options to choose from.

Check out the Rockwell Group-designed Katsuya close to Hudson Yards, Rule of Thirds by Love is Enough in Greenpoint, and Tsukimi in the East Village designed by Post Company – formerly known as Studio Tack.

The photography is by Nicole Franzen.

Reference

Interior Design

Traditional Korean pavilions inform open-sided Aesop store in Seoul

By Zarkon Group,08/09/2023

Skincare brand Aesop has collaborated with designer Samuso Hyojadong to create a store in Seochon, Seoul, that features an open facade and an oversized stone plinth.

Positioned in one of the oldest neighbourhoods of Seoul’s Jongno-gu district, the Seochon outlet was created to “fit harmoniously within its local context”, according to Aesop’s design team.

Interior of Aesop Seochon — Aesop designed the Seochon store with Samuso Hyojadong

When designing the store, Aesop and Hyojadong took cues from the architecture of jeongjas – traditional Korean pavilions with no walls, which serve as spaces for resting and taking in the surrounding views.

The street-facing facade was created with mesh metal screens that can open out entirely to create a storefront with no walls. Once closed, the woven metal backing creates translucent windows through which passersby observe the softly lit silhouettes of uniform rows of bottles.

Timber accents within South Korean Aesop store — Reclaimed timber features on the interior

“Samuso extended the floorplate outwards to create a threshold that conveys a generous sense of hospitality,” the Aesop design team told Dezeen.

“One [jeongja] in particular that inspired us was the Soswaewon in the Damyang region, which was built in the sixteenth century and is surrounded by a verdant garden.”

Oversized stone plinths topped with bottles — An oversized stone plinth displays Aesop products

For the store’s material palette, the designers referenced the timber and stone that are typically used to build traditional Korean houses known as hanoks.

A large, rough-edged stone plinth displaying clusters of products was positioned at the entrance while various wooden accents were created with timber reclaimed from salvage yards and an abandoned house.

Geometric copper cabinetry — Copper was used to create geometric cabinets

The store was also built on a raised stone platform, which nods to the traditional architecture.

Hanji paper created from mulberry tree bark sourced from South Korea’s Gyeongnam province features on the store’s walls, which frame central geometric cabinetry and sleek taps made of locally produced aged copper.

The designers were restrained in their use of sanding, sealants and coatings when treating the materials, opting to embrace their “natural imperfections”.

“Sensitivity to texture in this store is superlative,” reflected the design team. “Samuso wanted each material to express itself directly, without too much human intervention,” it continued, referencing the roughness of the stone and the reclaimed timber’s undulating texture.

Sleek copper taps within Aesop store — The metal was also used to design sleek taps

Rosewood was used to create the store’s signature fragrance armoire, which is hidden from view until opened out and was conceived as a traditional Korean jewellery box, according to the design team.

“Throughout the store, we were compelled by a desire to dissolve the boundaries between inside and outside, between the naturally occurring and the human-made,” concluded the designers.

Jewellery box-style fragrance armoire — The store’s signature fragrance armoire was informed by Korean jewellery boxes

Known for stores that pay homage to their varied locations, Aesop has an outlet in Cambridge defined by handwoven bulrush shelves that nod to the nearby River Cam and a Sydney store furnished with domestic items to evoke 1960s Australian homes.

The photography is courtesy of Aesop.

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Architecture

Constellations and mangroves inform design of St. Regis Resort Kanai

By Zarkon Group,27/03/2023

Architecture studio Edmonds International has created a hotel near Playa del Carmen in Mexico that comprises a series of interlocking circular forms embedded in a mangrove forest.

Made up of a series of pavilions, the hotel is sited near the Sian Ka’an Reserve on the Yucatán coast near the vacation towns of Playa del Carmen and Cancún.

In order to tread lightly on the delicate mangrove swamp during construction, Edmonds International utilised prefabricated elements and worked closely with the local environmental authorities.

St Regis Kanai — Edmonds International created a resort on the Mayan Riviera near a nature reserve

The result was a series of circular and semi-circular pavilions that were raised above the mangrove, while the orientation of the facades was designed to open the resort up to the natural surroundings, and to the sea.

“Surrounding natural landscape was physically protected during construction while assuring constant natural water flow to surrounding mangrove under the constant guidance and supervision of the governmental environmental protection agency,” studio founder Michael Edmonds told Dezeen.

“The extensive use of prefabricated elements and precast concrete foundations together with above-grade steel structure was used to avoid excessive onsite concrete pours during construction.”

Water and wood siding with trees — It comprises a series of circular and semi-circular forms

A series of white translucent panels line the sides of the structures that face away from the sea. Giving the structure an airy appearance, the panels were made from Teflon-coated Ferrari textile stretched over powder-coated steel frames.

The residential areas of the resort are semi-circular, while the public areas are circular with courtyards in the middle that hold amenities.

Metallic sculpture with white collumns — Open-air terraces and spaces are found throughout the resort

According to the studio, the circular program was influenced by Mayan cosmology.

“Its architecture stems from organic integration within the geometry of the mangrove where it’s situated and the Mayan idea of following the Pleiades formation centering its structures,” said Edmonds International.

“The design comes forth as two intersected circles that contain public areas, the BOH and three semicircles of larger radius that open towards the mangrove and in a second plane to the ocean.”

Throughout, a series of elevated walkways connect the different programs and, when viewed from above, complement geometrically the semi-circular residential envelopes.

In the courtyards and walkways, gardens, pools and other water features weave in and out of lounge areas and amenity spaces, including a spa and eight separate restaurants.

Hallway with glass and fabric shades — The residential units are located in the semi-circular structures

A driveway leads up to an entryway below a cantilevered terrace, leading into the lobby area, which sits at the conjunction of multiple programs.

The lobby is a three-storey, partially open-air space, characterised by the limestone, walnut and textiles that interior designer Chapi Chapo Design carried through the entirety of the resort.

Three-storey lobby interior — The interiors were designed by Chapi Chapo

The Mayan Riviera is known for a profusion of similar resorts, and in 2019 Italian architect Stefano Boeri even proposed building a smart city in the region to mitigate the environmental effects of development.

Other recent projects in the area include an apartment block built in the city of Cancún that was designed to break down the boundaries between tourists and the local workers who maintain the tourism industry.

Photography is courtesy of Courtesy of St. Regis Hotels & Resorts.

Reference

Interior Design

Traditional Hong Kong diners inform interior of Bao Express in Paris

By Zarkon Group,14/02/2023

Design studio Atelieramo has completed a retro interior for a Chinese restaurant in Paris, featuring celadon-green walls and curvaceous wooden booths modelled on those found in Hong Kong diners from the 1970s.

Architect Tala Gharagozlou and designer Virginie de Graveron oversaw the interior concept for Bao Express, a restaurant near Bastille in the 11th arrondissement that serves dim sum and bao buns.

Wood-framed seating booths in Bao Express — Bao Express is a Chinese restaurant in Paris. Top photo by Géraldine Martens

Housed in a former button factory, the 500-square-metre space is divided into three areas: a bakery, a diner and a basement bar.

Atelieramo set out to create a series of distinct yet connected spaces that evoke the architecture and pop culture of 1970s Hong Kong – in particular its greasy spoon cafes, locally known as cha chaan tengs.

Wood-lined seating booth in Paris restaurant by Atelieramo — Diners can sit in the eatery’s cosy wood-lined booths

“We reinterpreted snippets of that vibrant Hong Kong urban atmosphere with its coloured pavings, pastel colours, neon lights and dense mix of patterns and motifs,” said the studio.

“The aim was not to create a decor but rather, with a playful nod to these references, create a new atmosphere distinct to Bao’s new space.”

Mint-green dining room of Bao Express restaurant in Paris — A larger skylit dining area is located in the rear. Photo by Géraldine Martens

The adaptation of the existing abandoned building involved significant alterations to the floor plates and structure, along with the addition of a new staircase and circulation.

From the street, customers enter a small bakery and cafe serving sweet and savoury snacks to eat in or take away. What appears as a simple neighbourhood cafe conceals the presence of the larger dining areas, which are set back in the building’s plan.

Pastel-hued staircase in Chinese restaurant by Atelieramo — A new staircase leads down to the basement bar. Photo by Bérénice Bonnot

The kitchens are visible from the street and guests walk past colourful crates of raw produce before passing through a metal curtain to reach the main Bao Express diner.

The long dining space features cosy booths with sinuous wooden frames. The pastel-green walls are contrasted with bespoke bright-red sconces and simple mosaic panels that echo the materials of the central bar.

Towards the rear of the building is a larger dining area topped with an expansive skylight. This bright and airy space is filled with plants that create the feeling of dining in a winter garden.

Exposed masonry walls painted in celadon-green form the basis for a playful colour palette featuring contrasting peach and pink elements as seen in the glossy tabletops.

Bar with hammered-metal ceiling in Bao Express restaurant in Paris — A hammered-metal artwork by SupaKitch decorates the ceiling in the bar

The studio’s eclectic use of colour and pattern extends to the geometric tiled floors and punchy black-and-white stripes that are painted on the walls of the staircase leading down to the basement bar Underpool.

This bar area features a hammered-metal ceiling installation by French artist SupaKitch, with a rippled surface that reflects the blue-green interior and creates the impression of looking up at an upside-down swimming pool.

Swimming pool ceiling installation in Chinese restaurant by Atelieramo — The artwork creates the impression of looking up at a swimming pool

Bao Express is part of a family of eateries in Paris owned by restaurateurs Céline Chung and Billy Pham. Atelieramo was responsible for designing several of the duo’s restaurants, each of which has a unique character inspired by different aspects of Chinese culture.

Another eatery informed by traditional cha chaan tengs is The Astor restaurant in Hong Kong’s Eaton hotel, designed by New York studio AvroKO, which mixes elements of the city’s diners and street food stalls with nods to the arthouse films of Wong Kar-Wai.

The photography is by Carole Cheung unless otherwise stated.

Reference

Interior Design

Venice floodwaters inform two-tone interior of Va Bene Cicchetti bar

By Zarkon Group,06/10/2022

Sea green floors and skirting tiles are contrasted against the all-red interior of this bar in Warsaw, Poland, which local studio Noke Architects has designed to recall the high waters of Venice.

Billed as Poland’s first cicchetti bar – an Italian bar selling drinks alongside small plates of food – Va Bene Cicchetti is located in a huge Socialist Realist housing estate from the 1950s called the Marszałkowska Housing District.

Exterior of Va Bene Cicchetti bar by Noke Architects — Va Bene Cicchetti is a bar in Warsaw

Customers enter the bar via an arched doorway lined with antique mirrors. Inside, they are met by a huge red travertine counter with a large drinks cooler, which is hollowed out of the stone and filled with ice and bottles of prosecco.

Most of the interior is rendered in warm hues of red and gold in a nod to the colours of the Venetian flag.

But the floor, and everything up to about 20 centimetres in height, is finished in sea green to suggest the high waters of the Veneto region, locally known as acqua alta.

Red travertine bar by Noke Architects — Its interior was informed by Venice’s floodwaters

Several times a year, when the tide in the Adriatic Sea rises, these floodwaters will cover streets and piazzas in Venice in a layer of water.

To recreate this “flood effect” inside the interior of Va Bene Cicchetti, Noke Architects coloured the floors and skirting tiles, as well as the base of table legs, chairs and plinths in a watery shade of turquoise.

Red and turquoise interior of Warsaw bar Va Bene Cicchetti — Tables resemble Venice’s red-and-white striped mooring poles

“We wanted the place to be unambiguously associated with Venice but we also wanted for this reference to be fresh and unique,” said Piotr Maciaszek, who co-founded Noke Architects alongside Aleksandra Hyz and Karol Pasternak.

“We took inspiration from the colours of the Venetian flag, which dominate all finishings, and incorporated the acqua alta motif in the interior as an element of surprise.”

Shadow of wave decal on floor of Warsaw bar — Turquoise skirting tiles run along the perimeter of the room

The scheme is completed with glass lamps that resemble rippling water and bespoke furniture pieces including tables that pay homage to the red-and-white striped mooring posts found in Venice’s canals.

Taking over an entire wall of the bar is an intricate mosaic made from reclaimed materials including glass panes from the Murano glass factory in Venice and fragments of wine bottles from Va Bene Cicchetti’s sister restaurant Va Bene.

The mural depicts the bar’s owners and their dog Koko enjoying wine and food at a table in Venice.

“Veneto is where the famous Murano glass and antique mirrors are manufactured,” Maciaszek explained.

“The region is famous for its ceramics and wine. We came up with the idea to use mini pieces of Venice as the building blocks of our artwork. Mosaic was the perfect solution for this.”

Va Bene Cicchetti bar in Warsaw by Noke Architects with all-red interior and turquoise floors — The bar is centred on a red travertine counter

The bar’s basement level is completely saturated in the same greeny-blue hue as the floors upstairs to create the impression of being underwater.

Bathrooms, meanwhile, are finished in black and white stripes and topped with a red ceiling in a reference to the uniforms worn by Venetian gondoliers.

Wall mosaic in Warsaw bar — An intricate mosaic covers an entire wall of the bar

Polish illustrator and graphic designer Ola Niepsuj was responsible for creating the bar’s visual identity, which depicts the Lion of Saint Mark – a winged lion that represents the patron saint of Venice and is found on buildings across the city.

At Va Bene Cicchetti, this motif can be found in the form of door handles and the neon light above the entrance.

Stairwell with colour-block red and green walls — The bar’s basement level is covered in sea green tiles

Elsewhere in Poland, local practice Paradowski Studio recently channelled the glamour of Kraków’s interwar cafes and the clean functionalism of its mid-century modern cinemas for a hotel renovation.

The Puro Stare Miasto hotel is located next to Kraków’s historic old town and spans 138 rooms alongside an extensive open-plan reception, lobby space and restaurant.

The photography is by Piotr Maciaszek.

Reference

inform

Bird feathers inform Bar Miller interior by Polonsky & Friends

Traditional Korean pavilions inform open-sided Aesop store in Seoul

Constellations and mangroves inform design of St. Regis Resort Kanai

Traditional Hong Kong diners inform interior of Bao Express in Paris

Venice floodwaters inform two-tone interior of Va Bene Cicchetti bar

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