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    Hello Sunshine features “unlikely juxtaposition” of Japanese psychedelia and cabins

    A “psychedelic inverted cabin” provided Canadian studio Frank Architecture with the design narrative for this Japanese casual bar and restaurant in Banff, Alberta.

    Located in the mountains of Alberta, Hello Sunshine offers barbecue, sushi and karaoke in a retro-influenced space by Frank Architecture.
    Fireplaces sit at the centre of special tables at Hello SunshineThe team imagined an alternate reality, in which Japanese graphic designer Tadanori Yokoo ventured into the mountains and holed up in a cabin for years, and based the interiors on what the result might have been.
    “Taking cues from the unlikely juxtaposition of Japanese psychedelia meets spaghetti western meets mountain cabin, Hello Sunshine is bold, playful, and distinct,” said Frank Architecture, which has an office in Banff.
    The wood-panelled restaurant features a rounded bar at the backThe eatery is located in the middle of the town, which is a popular destination for tourists and winter sports enthusiasts and is laid out to offer a sense of discovery.

    “The spatial planning is intended to feel organic and meandering,” the team said. “Upon entry, the restaurant isn’t immediately visible but is slowly revealed as one moves through space.”
    Japanese elements like paper lanterns and textile artworks and paired with plaid curtains and plenty of woodThe restaurant occupies a tall open space lined almost entirely in wood, with the rounded bar located at the back and a variety of table seating options scattered around.
    Diners can choose between communal benches, four-tops, booths, bar stools, or sit at one of two special tables.
    Booth seating is lined up against angled, shingle-covered wallsThis pair of large circular counters both feature a raised fire pit at their centre, below fluid-shaped flues clad in glossy, glazed ceramic tiles.
    Japanese design staples like paper lanterns and ceiling-hung textile artworks are combined with mountain tropes such as plaid curtains, exposed stone and plenty of wood.

    Frank Architecture creates intimate setting for Calgary’s Lonely Mouth noodle bar

    Blue corduroy fabric is used to cover banquettes, while the booth seating is tucked into a niche formed by angled walls covered with timber shingles.
    In the karaoke rooms tucked away at the back, patterned carpet, lava lamps and disco balls add colour and sparkle to the wood-panelled spaces.
    Karaoke rooms are enlivened by disco balls and lava lampsThere’s also a concealed tiny bar based on those crammed into the alleyways of Golden Gai in Shinjuku, Tokyo.
    “The result is a bold and encapsulating space that surprises and delights guests with unexpected moments and distinctive style,” said the team.
    A tiny concealed bar is based on those found in Golden Gai, ShinjukuThis isn’t Frank Architecture’s only Japanese restaurant – the studio also created an intimate setting for the Lonely Mouth noodle bar in its other home city of Calgary.
    For another spot in the Western Canada metropolis, the team drew inspiration from author Truman Capote to set a 1960s vibe at Major Tom on the 40th floor of a downtown skyscraper.
    The photography is by Chris Amat.

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    Luchetti Krelle fashions playful interiors for RAFI restaurant in Sydney

    Vivid abstract paintings meet patterned floors and oversized lighting fixtures inside this restaurant in Sydney designed by local studio Luchetti Krelle.

    Celebrating the produce available on Sydney’s coastline, RAFI serves a seasonal array of seafood small plates. The restaurant’s name is an acronym for Raffaella, Aurora, Frankie and Indio – the children of owners Ben Carroll and Hamish Watts.
    Large paper lanterns dominate the interior of Sydney’s RAFI restaurantThe duo already run a number of successful dining venues across the city, all of which were designed by Luchetti Krelle.
    When called to devise the interiors for RAFI, the studio set out to create a scheme that would “ignite a child-like awe and wonder” in keeping with the restaurant’s name.
    Neon-orange cargo straps help to secure wine bottles in placeThis theme is picked up in a number of playful decor elements throughout the restaurant including a trio of huge paper lanterns and mosaic flooring.

    To one side of the dining area is an open kitchen, where a chunky red mantelpiece was built around the ovens.
    Chequered tiles give the interior a playful feelA drinks bar lies on the other side of the space, nestled beside a tall wine rack that uses neon-orange cargo straps to hold bottles in place.
    RAFI’s plan opens up to a couple of larger dining spaces – one covered in chequered tiles and another dressed with blue banquettes, colourful abstract paintings and woven-back chairs.

    Luchetti Krelle creates eclectic bar Jane inside former butcher shop

    The latter features wooden parquetry flooring arranged in concentric squares. This pattern is replicated on a set of cork doors at the rear of the space, which can be slid back to reveal an intimate private dining room.
    This area is centred by a hexagonal wooden table and a branch-like chandelier with light-up “leaves”.
    Abstract art and a branch-like chandelier feature in the private dining roomBlack box-frame windows that previously appeared throughout the restaurant were swapped for slender galvanised-steel casings, which offer better views out to the terrace.
    Here, the studio has introduced outdoor seating and “Aperol-toned” sun umbrellas, as well as a greenhouse-style dining room called The Arbor.
    Loosely inspired by childhood camping trips, this space features fold-out chairs and a canopy formed of white camouflage netting.
    More dining space is offered in a greenhouse-style structureLuchetti Krelle was established in 2008 by Rachel Luchetti and Stuart Krelle, with headquarters in Sydney’s Surry Hills neighbourhood.
    The studio recently completed another eatery in the city called Jane, which occupies a former butcher shop. Its eclectic interior draws on everything from seventies decor to french bistros and indigenous flowers.
    The photography is by Steve Woodburn.

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    Hollywood puppet theatre becomes Chief LA members' club

    A clubhouse for women in business now occupies a 1940s theatre in Los Angeles, following renovation work by JM|A+D and TAP Studio, with interiors by AvroKO.

    The three studios collaborated to rehabilitate the former Hollywood puppet theatre to create the Los Angeles flagship for Chief, which offers memberships to women in leadership roles.
    Like Chief’s other locations, the LA flagship clubhouse is designed to have a residential feel”Designed as a space for the most powerful women in business to connect and find community, we re-conceptualized the historic structure as a modern pied-a-terre, reinterpreting the best elements of traditional member’s club environments with a bold, lush palette,” said the team in a joint statement.
    JM|A+D and TAP Studio – both based in California – worked on restoring the theatre building while updating the spaces for their new purposes.
    The former theatre was converted to include two bars, five conference rooms and multiple lounges”From scattered wet bars and mothers’ rooms to carefully scaled seating and meeting areas, our goal was to develop a female-focused environment that brings the membership network’s mission to life,” the team said.

    “We dovetailed original building elements with new millwork, pathways, and technology to create an enfilade of communal and enclosed zones designed to host large events, lingering, chance encounters and focused work.”
    Conference rooms are each identified by a different colourThe interiors incorporate some of the design elements in Chief’s New York and Chicago locations, the latter of which was also designed by AvroKO and was named Large Workspace of the Year at the Dezeen Awards 2021.
    The visual threads between the different outposts include the use of rich colours and mix of furniture styles to create a residential feel, and incorporating many pieces by female artists and designers among custom millwork and vintage finds.
    Nods to the building’s former use include framed signatures of those who performed thereThe 14,000-square-foot (1,300-square-metre) LA clubhouse is split over two levels and includes two bars, five conference rooms, multiple lounge areas, and smaller private rooms for meetings or focused work.
    An outdoor patio is also available for members to sit among the trees or around a fire pit.

    AvroKO creates residential feel inside Chief members club in Chicago

    Inside, another fireplace is clad in narrow, glossy ceramic tiles and forms a focal point at the end of the bar.
    Each of the conference rooms is identified by a different colour, such as a large room with a sienna-hued ceiling and another that’s painted dark blue.
    A mix of furniture styles includes custom pieces, vintage finds and many designs by womenOchre yellow, dusty rose and various shades of green can also be found in upholstery, rugs, artwork and styled accessories.
    Nods to the building’s previous use are also scattered throughout. “We integrated a wall with celebrity signatures from roasts hosted at the theatre into the design,” said the team.
    Chief LA also has an outdoor patio for members to enjoyJM|A+D was founded by architect Jeffrey Miller and also has an office in Oregon. The studio has previously collaborated with TAP principal Tanya Paz on several residential projects.
    AvroKO is best known for hospitality projects and also designed the Mortimer House members’ club in London.
    The photography is by Aubrie Pick.
    Project credits:
    Architecture: JM|A+D and TAPInterior design: AvroKOCivil engineer: KPFFMEP consultant: Interface EngineeringAudiovisual consultant: VanWert Technology DesignLighting consultant: Focus LightingFood and beverage consultant: Sam Tell

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    A-nrd brings “beachfront feel” to restaurant in London's Soho

    London design office A-nrd has used a palette of neutral and natural materials to give this restaurant in Soho a laidback atmosphere reminiscent of an Australian beach club.

    Milk Beach Soho is the brainchild of Sydney-born restaurateur Elliot Milne, who wanted to create an all-day eatery and night-time hotspot influenced by some of Australia’s casual dining venues.
    A-nrd has designed London’s Milk Beach Soho restaurantThe restaurant, which can seat 150 people, is located within the Ilona Rose House development in central London and occupies what was previously an empty shell and core unit.
    A-nrd set out to design a transportive space for the eatery that replicates the feeling of coastal hospitality in Sydney’s Milk Beach neighbourhood without feeling alienating in its urban setting.
    The eatery features natural materials like wood and rattan”We chose a natural, neutral palette to give the restaurant that beachfront feel,” said Alessio Nardi, who runs the studio together with Lukas Persakovas.

    “We wanted to avoid any direct nautical motifs or tacky references to the seaside,” he told Dezeen. “Our design is intentionally quite minimal and plays with textures and subtle colours instead of using obvious motifs like ropes or model boats.”
    Bamboo pendant lights by Lion Iron hang from the ceilingThe bright and airy space is grounded by a polished Palladiana terrazzo floor that was laid in situ, with large chunks of tonal marble set into a base of sand-coloured cement to create the effect of walking on a beach.
    Walls treated with stucco and limewash bring warmth to the spacious interior, as well as creating a sense of consistency throughout the dining area and the adjacent bar.
    The bar area is backed by glossy white tilesArt deco buildings found in Sydney and the surrounding area informed some of the shapes used in the restaurant, including a curved nine-metre-long bar and the stuccoed wall that separates it from the main space.
    The bar’s backsplash is formed from glossy off-white tiles that nod to the facade of the Sydney Opera House. The tiles alternate between a plain and relief pattern, adding texture and visual interest to the space.

    A-nrd looks to Mexico to craft interiors of Kol restaurant in London

    The ceiling above the bar was lowered and clad in oak slats to create a cosier atmosphere, helped by flush art deco-style lights.
    A-nrd designed much of the furniture for the restaurant, including sofas, banquettes and tables with soft shapes that extend the art deco influence.
    Other bespoke designs used in the space include the two-metre-wide pendant lights that were crafted from bamboo by British metalworker David Barker’s company Lion Iron.
    Sandy-hued Palladiana terrazzo covers the floorThe use of natural materials also extends to the restaurant’s seating, made from timber and rattan or woven leather. The tables feature solid travertine tops and sculptural oak legs.
    Wall lights made from Japanese paper by artist Celine Wright and an Abaca fibre pendant from Pinch provide warm, diffused illumination within the dining area.
    Travertine was used to form tables throughout the restaurantThe layout of the space takes advantage of the building’s large lightwell, which floods the interior with natural light and provides views to the exterior.
    The restaurant is designed as an indoor-outdoor experience, making the most of a large courtyard area with seating for 65 guests.
    Art deco-style sconces bring a warm glow to the interiorAlessio Nardi founded A-nrd in 2015 and was joined in 2018 by long-term friend and collaborator Lukas Persakovas.
    A-nrd’s previous work includes the interior of London restaurant Kol, which aims to capture an authentic sense of Mexico through its material palette and furnishings.
    The photography is by Charlie McKay.

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    Citrons et Huîtres oyster bar creates impression of “diving into an aquarium”

    French interior designer Marion Mailaender has completed a seafood bar in Paris named Citrons et Huîtres, which features oyster-shaped door handles and a stainless steel counter informed by fishmongers.

    Mailaender, who specialises in creating spaces “with a great sense of humour”, designed the bar to resemble an elevated market stall, where guests can dine inside or take away platters of oysters and shellfish.
    Citrons et Huîtres is an oyster bar with coral-coloured stoolsCitrons et Huîtres has a raw steel facade informed by the storefronts of local fishmongers, which have floor-to-ceiling windows that open onto the streets of Paris.
    Guests enter the bar through a door with a bronze handle shaped like an oyster shell, while a matching neon sign is fixed on the facade above the bar’s name.
    The bar has door handles shaped like oyster shellsInside, the space has a vaulted ceiling that reaches more than four and a half metres in height, which is painted blue together with the walls to create the impression of “diving into an amazing aquarium”, the owners said.

    The walls are decorated with prints by Mailaender’s husband, the artist Thomas Mailaender, who used a cyanotype printing process dating back to 1842 to produce ethereal blue photographs of coastal scenes.
    An oyster-shaped neon sign decorates the facadeCountertops are rendered in stainless steel and finished with a “pearly sheen”, while coral-coloured stools line the bar.
    The bar serves local French oysters from Brittany, presented on stainless steel trays that complement the interior.
    “Like a market stall with its stainless steel seafood counter, Citrons et Huîtres invites guests to savour the most incredible oysters while sipping on a glass of white,” the bar’s owners explained.
    Walls and ceilings are painted in a moody shade of blueThe name Citrons et Huîtres was chosen to reference a still-life by French Impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir, who once had his studio in the same building that now houses the oyster bar.
    “At the height of his glory in 1900, Renoir created Citrons et Huîtres, a piece of art that celebrates the most beautiful shellfish, classified as a national heritage of French art,” said the owners.
    The bar serves local French oysters and mussels from BrittanyOther oyster bars with interiors informed by the food on offer include Vancouver’s ShuckShuck, which is traversed by a curving concrete counter, and Watchman’s in Atlanta with its “spare nautical” interiors.
    The photography is by Thomas Tissandier.

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    Keiji Ashizawa draws on “whiteness of tofu” for tactile Saga Hirakawaya restaurant

    Japanese designer Keiji Ashizawa paid homage to the food on offer when designing the Saga Hirakawaya tofu restaurant, which hopes to revitalise a depopulated community in Japan.

    Located in the hot spring resort Takeo Onsen in Japan’s Saga prefecture, the curved restaurant was designed to blend in with the surrounding environment, including a historical tower gate.
    The Saga Hirakawaya restaurant is located next to a historical tower gate”Tofu, a food culture rooted in the region of Saga prefecture, is the main ingredient of this restaurant,” Ashizawa told Dezeen. “Since tofu is a simple food, we chose materials with a sense of simplicity such as wood, concrete and walls finished in plaster to bring out the texture in the materials.”
    “With a background of wishing to use local materials, wood was used for the entrance, windows and undersurface of eaves to match the wood from Ariake, a furniture brand based in Saga.”
    Volcanic ash was used for the plasterThe studio also used shirasu – a type of volcanic ash from Mount Sakurajima in Kyushu – as a plastering material for the building’s exterior walls.

    Saga Hirakawaya has a curved design forming a semi-open interior courtyard, which holds a foot bath with hot spring water that aims to encourage the restaurant’s customers to eat and stay outside the establishment for longer.
    Wooden furniture matches the pared-down interiorInside the 435-square-metre restaurant, the interior matches the exterior with pale grey walls that nod to the food on the menu.
    “As the ceiling and walls are curved, pale colours are used to extend the light beautifully in the restaurant, complemented by the use of grey colours on the walls and floors,” Ashizawa said. “It also signifies the whiteness of the tofu.”

    Keiji Ashizawa adds Blue Bottle Coffee shop to Kobe department store

    The restaurant’s ground floor houses a shop selling tofu-based products and sweets, while the first floor is home to a restaurant serving onsen yudofu – a type of tofu made using hot spring water.
    An open atrium connects the shop and restaurant, which both feature large windows.
    The ground floor houses a shopCircular lamps made by local paper manufacturer Nao Washi hang over the tables while the wooden furniture was made by furniture brand Ariake, which manufactures in Saga prefecture.
    The decision to open the Saga Hirakawaya restaurant in Takeo Onsen was made by its owner, who was born and raised in the area and wanted to help revitalise the community, which has suffered from a population decline.
    Paper lamps hang over tables”Depopulation is inevitable in rural areas of Japan,” Ashizawa said. “But in order to revitalise a region, it is important to attract people to the area through tourism.”
    “The client decided to create a restaurant serving onsen yudofu, believing that the region’s unique culinary culture could be an incentive to visit the area for sightseeing.”
    A restaurant space is located on the first floor”We deeply sympathise with the client’s hope to make the most of the wonderful location in front of the historical tower gate of Takeo Onsen, an important cultural asset, and to combine it with the region’s unique food culture to attract tourists from both inside and outside of Japan, contributing to the revitalisation of the area,” he added.
    Other recent projects by Ashizawa include a Blue Bottle Coffee shop in Kobe and a mid-century-modern-informed residence in Tokyo.
    The photography is by Ben Richards.
    Project credits:
    Architect: Keiji Ashizawa DesignProject architect: Keiji Ashizawa, Kentaro Yamaguchi, Tsubasa FuruichiConstruction: Yamakami IncFurniture: Hirata Chair/LegnatecLighting: Saito Shomei/Nao Washi

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    Space Exploration Design gives Bar Americano in Brooklyn a time-worn feel

    Distressed plaster, exposed brick and mahogany millwork at this cocktail bar in Greenpoint were chosen by Space Exploration Design to “give the impression that it’s always been there”.

    Bar Americano opened recently on the corner of a landmarked residential building on Franklin Avenue – a bustling yet not overrun thoroughfare in north Brooklyn.
    The U-shaped counter at Bar Americano provides seating on three sidesServing cocktails, aperitifs and small plates, the bar is designed with an intentionally worn-in appearance to integrate with the fabric of the neighbourhood.
    “The directive that the ownership team of Bar Americano gave to Space Exploration Design was to create a neighborhood bar that gives the impression that it’s always been there,” said the studio, run by designer Kevin Greenberg. “[We] chose a palette of mostly warm, neutral materials with natural finishes that will patina gracefully over time.”
    Mahogany millwork forms the back bar, which incorporates sconces decorated with abstract floral patternsThe bar itself is located in the centre of the space, with a U-shaped counter surrounded by wooden stools on three sides.

    Behind, a mahogany cabinet displays a wide range of liquor bottles, and a vintage clock is affixed near the top.
    Seating nooks are tucked into corners away from the standing roomAlso embedded into the millwork are a pair of gilded sconces decorated with abstract floral patterns, created by Blaser Finishing, which also completed the plasterwork across the walls.
    Tight tambour panels clad the front of the bar counter and the lower half of partitions, and fluted glass continues the same vertical accentuation above.

    Usonian architecture informs Sereneco restaurant in Greenpoint by Carpenter + Mason

    “To emphasise the simple, honest approach to the cocktails, Space Exploration employed a restrained detailing language throughout. A strong sense of verticality provides the perfect complement to Bar Americano’s delicate glassware,” the studio said.
    Cosy seating nooks with leather upholstery of different sizes are snuggled into corners and window bays, away from the standing room.
    A raised seating area is set against an exposed brick wallA larger area with two-top tables is raised a few steps up, set against an exposed brick wall.
    Decorative tin tiles covering the ceiling were painted matte white, while brass was chosen for lighting fixtures, coat hooks and other hardware details.
    Distressed plaster walls and tin ceiling tiles add to the bar’s worn-in appearanceBar Americano joins several design-forward food and drink spaces in Greenpoint, including the Sereneco restaurant informed by Usonian architecture and the plant-filled Vietnamese eatery Di An Di.
    Other cocktail bars in NYC that have recently opened include the Upstairs lounge at Public Records in Gowanus and the rooftop bar at the Moxy Lower East Side hotel.
    The photography is by Alice Gao.

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    Lucas y Hernández-Gil uses extreme colour blocking in Naked and Famous bar

    Madrid-based studio Lucas y Hernández-Gil has used reflective materials, neon lighting and sunset colours to create intense interiors for a bar in Seville.

    Called Naked and Famous, the bar contains a series of rooms that explore extremely different moods, thanks to varying colours, materials and lighting conditions.
    The bar features three distinctively different roomsAccording to architect Cristina Domínguez Lucas, co-founder of Lucas y Hernández-Gil, the aim was create to a visual experience that echoes the taste sensations of the various cocktails on offer.
    “We hope to intensify the experience of cocktail drinking by achieving an atmosphere of saturated tones where visual perception establishes connections with the sense of taste,” she told Dezeen.
    The design aims to intensify the experience of drinking cocktailsNaked and Famous is the latest venture from the team behind the popular Seville restaurant Casaplata, which opened in the Spanish city in 2018.

    While the cocktail bar has a similarly contemporary feel, with industrial-style materials and bold forms, the design is much more immersive.
    The entrance lobby is framed by mirror surfacesYou arrive via a mirror-lined lobby, intended to play with your perception of space.
    From here, a tall arched doorway leads through to a room where everything is a vivid shade of pink.
    The central room is a vivid shade of pinkThere are two more spaces to discover.
    One is a softly lit room coloured in midnight blue, described by Lucas as a space of  “silence and shadows”.

    Pastel furnishings contrast against concrete walls in Seville’s Casaplata restaurant

    The other is a laboratory-inspired room featuring a cocktail bar framed by metallic surfaces. Argon-blue lighting gives the room a turquoise glow.
    “Here we find ourselves surrounded by metalised tones and reflections, just as in a great cocktail shaker,” said Lucas.
    Another of the rooms is coloured in a midnight-blue toneThe design takes inspiration from the light artworks of Dan Flavin and James Turrell, as well as the paintings of Milton Avery. The colour palette is based on the colours of the sky during sunset hours.
    The lighting effects are amplified by the combination of multi-textural and see-through materials, particularly the corrugated and perforated metal that forms internal walls, and the acoustic foam on the ceiling.
    The bar is designed with a laboratory feelThe rooms have been furnished with bespoke tables and chairs designed by Lucas y Hernández-Gil’s furniture studio, Kresta Design.
    Based on the forms of kitchen utensils, these designs feature cone shapes, splayed legs, high-gloss surfaces and velvet upholstery.
    Argon-blue lighting is reflected around the spaceLucas and partner Fernando Hernández-Gil Ruano founded their studio in 2007.
    Other completed projects include the La Hermandad de Villalba guesthouse and the Juana Limón cafe in Madrid.
    The photography is by Juan Delgado.

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