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      Lina Stores South Kensington designed to “evoke the rhythm” of Italian espresso bars

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      Interiors studio North End Design has applied the distinctive pistachio green synonymous with London’s popular Italian delicatessen and restaurant chain Lina Stores to the company’s newly opened branch in South Kensington.

      Positioned on the corner of Exhibition Road and Thurloe Square, the South Kensington restaurant is the seventh outpost of the well-known deli, which opened in Soho in 1944.
      The Lina Stores team worked with local studio North End Design to create an interior that balances the chain’s history with its most recent location.
      Lina Stores South Kensington includes the brand’s distinctive pistachio green”For South Kensington specifically, we added a more elevated look to mirror the neighbourhood,” Lina Stores told Dezeen.
      The brand’s “signature” pale green clads the facade, from which the deli’s recognisable stripy awning protrudes.

      Inside, the designers centred the restaurant around an open kitchen counter and coffee bar that wraps one side of the eatery and is topped with dark timber and stainless steel.
      The designers centred the restaurant around an open kitchen counterThis feature was chosen to reference the hustle and bustle found in traditional Roman and Milanese espresso bars.
      “These bars tend to be at the centre of their communities, which is very much how we see our restaurants and delicatessen when we open in a new neighbourhood,” explained the brand.
      Mismatched bentwood chairs provide seatingMismatched bentwood chairs and deep green banquettes were arranged around rectilinear tiled tables to create seating areas across the restaurant, which features a ceiling painted the same distinctive pistachio as the facade.
      Plump, leather-upholstered stools with fat cream-hued piping were also positioned at the bar – the focal point of the eatery where “everything happens”.
      Black and white photography and newspaper cuttings line the wallsThe team dressed the space with steel columns and beams – taking cues from classical Milanese colonnades – and painted them dark green “to evoke the rhythm of the architecture of Milan”, said Lina Stores.
      Chequerboard flooring features throughout the space, finished in a mixture of dark green mosaic and terrazzo tiles.
      Gloss lacquered sapele wall panelling matches the dark timber of the chairsGloss lacquered sapele wall panelling matches the dark timber of the dining chairs, while second-hand Tuscan credenzas and cabinets were sourced as waiter stations.
      “They were included for an elevated, vintage look,” Lina Stores said.
      Chequerboard flooring features throughout the spaceAcross the restaurant’s walls, a selection of vintage Italian black and white photography was combined with framed newspaper cuttings documenting Lina Stores’ history.
      “The collection and positioning of the artwork throughout the space has a spontaneous feel to it, like a wall at an old cafe that’s been added to organically over time,” explained the brand.

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      North End Design also added “opaline” globe lighting to the eatery, in a nod to the same bulbs illuminating Lina Stores’ original Brewer Street deli.
      “We take an individual approach to each one of our locations so no Lina Stores restaurant and delicatessen looks the same,” said the brand.
      “While all the restaurants are very much inspired by our first delicatessen, we see them as extensions and a way to further develop and bring in different elements of Italian design.”
      Globe lighting nods to the Brewer Street deliArchitecture studio Red Deer designed the first of the Lina Stores restaurants on Greek Street, minutes from the original deli. French designer Olivier Delannoy recently created the interiors for Daroco restaurant located just around the corner.
      The photography is by Adam Firman. 

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      Humbert & Poyet sets up Beefbar restaurant inside 16th-century Milanese chapel

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      Interior design duo Humbert & Poyet has delivered an opulent setting for the Milan outpost of high-end steakhouse Beefbar, taking over the former chapel of a 500-year-old seminary on Corso Venezia.

      The studio drew on the architecture of the historic building with its dramatic vaulted nave – recently restored as part of a seven-year renovation project led by architect Michele De Lucchi – while introducing elements of Milanese modernism.
      Beefbar Milano is set inside a converted chapel”We were inspired by the major figures of the Milanese style of the 1940s and 1960s and the timeless sophistication and modernism that their designs gave rise to,” said Humbert & Poyet.
      “We wanted guests to feel transported to a place that invokes the past, present and future, and experience the inimitable sensuality and relaxed nature of the Italian spirit.”
      Humbert & Poyet introduced dining chairs by Vico MagistrettiAs the restaurant is located in a historical site, Humbert & Poyet’s wanted to honour Milanese craftsmanship, using locally-produced materials including marble, terrazzo flooring and woodwork, all sourced from Milan and nearby Bergamo.

      “This also meant that we were able to reduce our carbon footprint by cutting down transportation distances, while also being able to showcase the beauty of the raw materials native to the region, as well as the intricate work of Italian artisans living in Milan,” the studio said.
      Dark red zellige tiles provide a subtle splash of colourPrimarily, the duo sought to balance the high vaulted ceilings of the former chapel with the comparatively small footprint of the space while finding a way to integrate the kitchen into the restaurant.
      “The decision to have the restaurant, bar and kitchen open onto one another was driven by our desire to create an environment where guests could truly savour moments of conviviality,” the studio said.
      “We also consciously aimed to preserve and showcase the inherent beauty of the original space, avoiding any partitioning that could potentially detract from its aesthetic while we decided to create a pavilion structure under the vault, which the kitchen could be placed beneath.”

      Beefbar steakhouse in Paris occupies an art-nouveau atrium

      Key to this fusing of the three main spaces is the terrazzo floor, which unites the restaurant, bar and kitchen.
      Its stylised wave pattern pays tribute to Italian architect Luigi Caccia Dominioni, who left “an indelible mark on post-war Italian design and Milanese modernism”, according to Humbert & Poyet.
      “His versatile approach to architecture and design allowed him to harmoniously blend historical and traditional elements with the modern urban environment,” the studio said. “This is precisely the essence we sought to capture in our design for the Beefbar Milan.”
      Benches are upholstered in opulent green velvetThe colours found within the terrazzo informed the palette of the whole space.
      Shades of green, black, white and burgundy repeat throughout the bar and restaurant, found across curving green couches, hand-made burgundy tiles and in the onyx marble that lines the meat display cases.
      “Our selection of colours is intricately tied to the terrazzo, which creates a cohesive and aesthetically pleasing environment that enhances the overall dining experience,” the studio said.
      Fluted walnut panelling nods to Milanese cafesJuxtaposing with the austere finish of the lofty vaulted ceiling, the lower section of the room is enveloped in fluted walnut panelling, which Humbert & Poyet chose as a nod to the “aesthetic codes of Milanese cafes”.
      Dark red zellige tiles add a touch of colour to the space while tactile velvet features on the green upholstered banquettes, providing a counterpoint to the hard surfaces.
      Positioned below Humbert & Poyet’s Asterios lights, tables topped with deep green Verdi Apli marble bring a sense of “refinement and sophistication” to the space, the studio said.
      The chapel’s dramatic vaulted nave remains a core feature of the space”The marble tables are a perfect complement to the sumptuous velvet seating benches, and the marble’s organic qualities create a sense of dynamism when paired with the Carimate dining chairs by the Italian designer Vico Magistretti,” said Humbert & Poyet.
      Beefbar Milano has been shortlisted in the restaurant and bar interior category of this year’s Dezeen Awards.
      Also in the running is a restaurant in a former mechanic’s workshop in Guadalajara and David Thulstrup’s interior for Ikoyi in London, which features copper walls and a curved metal-mesh ceiling.
      The photography is by Francis Amiand.

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      Studio Nor scatters chunky stucco walls throughout Qinhuangdao hotpot restaurant

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      Thickset stucco walls hide unsightly structural panels inside this branch of restaurant chain Jin Sheng Long, which Studio Nor has designed in Qinhuangdao, China.

      Jin Sheng Long is a historic eatery known for serving hotpots and baodu – a traditional tripe dish. Since opening its first outpost in Beijing in the late 19th century, the restaurant has expanded into a chain with a number of outlets nationwide.
      Structural panels found throughout Jin Sheng Long are now enclosed by stucco wallsIts latest outpost in the port city of Qinhuangdao occupies a trio of former retail units on the ground floor of a residential tower.
      As a result, the interior is plagued by a number of awkwardly placed structural panels, which Chinese practice Studio Nor chose to retain and turn into key design features by encasing them within chunkier stucco-coated walls.
      The walls demarcate cosy dining nooksThese walls now form a labyrinth of cosy dining nooks that diners can explore, mimicking what Studio Nor describes as the “intricate and meandering” arrangement of stalls in a Chinese food market.

      Even the restaurant’s wooden tables and benches were chosen to resemble the furniture found in these markets.
      The restaurant’s tables and chairs resemble those found in a food market”We got inspiration from Jin Sheng Long’s history,” the studio said.
      “Back in the late Qing Dynasty, the founder of the restaurant started his business by setting up street stalls in Beijing’s famous old Dong’an Market – a then-popular destination full of dazzling attractions and bustling with life and activities.”
      The structural panels located in the centre of the room also serve a decorative function, with their enclosing walls set at unexpected angles and finished with curved niches for displaying bonsai trees, vases and other ornaments.

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      A bar is located towards the rear of Jin Sheng Long’s Qinhuangdao restaurant, in the only part of the room that is uninterrupted by structural panels.
      This area is anchored by an eight-metre-long counter, which is raised up on a stage-like brick plinth to highlight the theatricality of the drinks preparation process.
      Walls at the centre of the restaurant feature curved nichesStudio Nor expanded the restaurant’s windows to bring in more natural light and lined their inner frames with copper in a nod to the traditional cookware used to serve hotpot.
      Artificial lighting, on the other hand, was kept to a minimum in a bid to draw attention to the few illuminated areas that pop up throughout the interior.
      A brick plinth raises up the bar counterElsewhere in Qinhuangdao, BLUE Architecture Studio found another clever way of concealing unattractive structural elements when designing the Zolaism cafe.
      Here, the studio disguised the building’s support columns as huge craggy boulders.
      The photography is by Songkai Liu.
      Project credits:
      Architecture firm: Studio NORLead architects: Boyuan Jiang, Jingwen WangDesign team: Zhongyuan Liu, Wenxuan Xu, Yiming Lu, Shuo YangLighting consultant: Chloe ZhangConstruction team: QX GroupConstruction documents consultant: Shanghai C-Yuspace Design

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