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    Soho House Nashville opens in Music City hosiery factory

    A former hosiery factory in Nashville has been converted into a Soho House hotel and members’ club, designed with nods to its industrial setting and the city’s musical heritage.

    The launch of Soho House Nashville earlier this week marks the company’s second location in the American South, following the opening of the Austin house in 2021.
    Soho House Nashville has opened in the May Hosiery BuildingThe May Hosiery Building, constructed in the early 1900s in the Tennessee city’s artsy Wedgewood-Houston neighbourhood, now contains a series of club spaces and accommodation.
    The Soho House design team used the building’s industrial past and Nashville’s reputation as the Music City to inform the renovation and decor.
    “The house design is influenced by a strong pre-war, European aesthetic, connecting to the building’s history with Bauhaus-inspired, striking geometric patterns, bold industrial finishes, and bespoke fixtures,” said the team.

    Metal shelving divides spaces in the Club RoomPlaying on the colour of original verdigris copper doors, various teal shades were used across the different spaces to visually tie them together.
    Meanwhile, the striped tiling around the swimming pool evokes the pattern of a guitar string board.
    “Music City influences do not escape Soho House Nashville with its warm, rich textures of the rock and roll era and decorative patterns that nod to the jazz and blues genres,” the design team said.
    Striped tiling around the pool is designed to mimic a guitar string boardThe building contains three indoor and outdoor performance spaces, a pool, a health club and a screening room.
    Food is offered at Club Cecconi’s, the first in-house restaurant of the Cecconi’s chain of Italian eateries owned by the Soho House group.
    Soho House Nashville’s hotel has 47 bedrooms that vary in sizeAt the heart of the building, the Club Room is divided by industrial metal shelving into intimate spaces including a library with a fireplace and a games area.
    The Sock Room also celebrates the factory’s prior use for producing socks that astronauts wore to the moon, and now hosts live music and events.

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    Referencing the machinery once housed in the space, bespoke bar lamps with an industrial aesthetic contrast softer materials like velvet and textured sheer linen.
    Soho House Nashville has 47 bedrooms that range in size, including a large loft suite that spans over three floors.
    Bedrooms all have large chandeliers and a variety of textilesThe rooms are furnished with bespoke, locally made designs and vintage accessories, as well as large chandeliers and metal screens that conceal the bathrooms.
    “Each bedroom has been designed to feel traditional and cosy with woven tapestries, made with bespoke fabric designed in Nashville specifically for the house, to hide all TVs,” said the team.
    The rooms feature a mix of bespoke local furniture and vintage accessoriesA total of 170 pieces were acquired from 41 local artists to be displayed throughout the hotel and club areas.
    They join the wider art collection exhibited in the Soho House locations across the globe, which the company has gradually added to its portfolio since its founding in London in 1995.
    Metal screen doors enclose the bathroomsAlong with Austin, the group’s outposts in North America include Soho Warehouse in Downtown Los Angeles and Dumbo House in Brooklyn.
    It’s not surprising that the brand chose to open in Nashville – one of several southern US cities that has seen a recent influx of young creative people, and therefore an expanded repertoire of cultural and entertainment venues.
    Also new to the city’s dining and drinking scene is The Twelve Thirty Club , which is owned by restauranteur Sam Fox and musician Justin Timberlake.
    The photography is by Andrew Joseph Woomer.

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    Rise Design Studio opts to “reuse and recycle” for Carousel restaurant interior

    London restaurant Carousel has moved to a new venue but taken many of its old fixtures and fittings with it, thanks to an environmentally conscious approach from Rise Design Studio.

    Founded seven years ago by brothers Ollie and Ed Templeton, the restaurant has moved into three converted Georgian townhouses in Fitzrovia, with dining rooms on two floors.
    Rise Design Studio designed the original Carousel restaurant in Marylebone, so the architects decided to be as resourceful as possible when repeating the formula in a new location.
    Carousel occupies three converted Georgian townhouses in FitzroviaSeveral design elements from the original restaurant have been repurposed in the new location.
    These include the tall metal-clad entrance door, which can now be found at the entrance to one of the dining rooms, and a copper light window that is now installed internally rather than externally. A set of Spanish wall tiles were also carefully removed and now serve as floor tiles.

    These are combined with new colours and textures, from materials such as painted brickwork and terrazzo-style tiles.
    A guest kitchen and dining room is lit from above by a large skylight”Carousel 2.0 was an opportunity to create new spaces which didn’t exist in the original Carousel,” said Rise Design Studio director Imran Jahn. “But we also did not want to lose the feel of the original.”
    “We wanted to re-use and recycle,” he told Dezeen. “We wanted previous customers and returning guest chefs to be reminded of Carousel 1.0, so we proposed to retain finishes, fixtures and fittings and use them again here.”
    Wall tiles from the previous Carousel venue have been reused here as floor tilesThe new property gives the restaurant enough space for several dining rooms and kitchens plus, for the first time, a wine bar.
    On the ground floor, the bar sits in between an all-day dining room and a space for Carousel’s ever-changing roster of guest chefs. The former faces the street, while the latter is lit from above through a lightwell.
    The all-day dining room features painted brickwork and terrazzo-style tilesThere’s also a separate diner-style restaurant space intended for new dining concept launches, which is currently occupied by Goila Butter Chicken.
    Upstairs, a subdividing lounge/events space leads through to a private dining room.
    A wine and cocktail bar is sandwiched between the two ground-floor spaces”Ed and Ollie had scoped out a draft layout of the various zones they wanted to create before we were introduced to the project,” said Jahn. “They needed our design expertise in interiors to help bring it all together.”
    A consistent element throughout the interior is the use of industrial-style Crittall screens and doors, which are infilled with fluted glass.
    Concrete counters feature slatted wooden frontsSeveral rooms feature walls finished with a type of Nordic plaster that comes in different colours and creates a smooth, durable and multi-tonal surface. The guest kitchen is a mid-grey shade, while the private dining room is soft green.
    Other details include concrete counters with wooden slatted fronts, exposed steel structural beams and formica tables.
    An events space leads through to a private dining room”The overall tone of the proposals brings together the distinct spaces but allows them to sit happily in their individuality,” said Jahn.
    “The use of Crittall screens throughout and reeded glazing provides for continuity but also an air of mystery for the viewer wanting to find out more about the partially hidden spaces within.”
    A special type of plaster gives a multi-tonal quality to the wallsThe new Carousel location welcomed its first diners in November 2021. The all-day menu, prepared by Ollie, includes a range of small plates including beef tartare toast, confit pumpkin with burrata and sage, and grilled mackerel flatbread.
    “We’ve been dreaming about this move for a long time,” said Ed. “We loved being a part of the Marylebone community, but we genuinely couldn’t have imagined a more exciting neighbourhood, or a more fitting home, to be moving into.”
    Carousel offers an all-day menu and also hosts a roster of guest chefs”You’ll find all the best bits of the old Carousel in the new space, with some fun additions like the neighbourhood wine bar, where you’ll finally be able to experience the kind of food that Ollie likes to cook, in an easygoing all-day setting,” he added.
    Other recent restaurant openings in London include Kol, a Marylebone eatery with a Mexican menu, and Maido, a sushi restaurant in St John’s Wood.
    Photography is by Joe Okpako. Video is by Henry Woide.

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    Alex Meitlis uses plaster and terrazzo to create pink tones in Ottolenghi Chelsea

    London deli chain Ottolenghi has taken a new approach with its latest venue, styled by interior designer Alex Meitlis with a palette of warm pink and red hues.

    Ottolenghi Chelsea features bare plaster walls, pink terrazzo tiles, red upholstered seating and rattan seats.
    The look is a departure from the other Ottolenghi delis, where the design is typically more bright and minimal.
    Pink and red tones feature throughout Ottolenghi ChelseaMeitlis has been behind the design of all the other delis, as well as sister restaurants Nopi and Rovi, which all feature the food of Israeli chef Yotam Ottolenghi and business partners Noam Bar and Sami Tamimi.
    Here the idea was to make more of a statement, using colours that match the Ottolenghi tableware collection recently launched by Serax.

    In the same spirit, the shopfront and exterior signage bring in vibrant shades of yellow, blue and turquoise.
    Clay plaster walls are left exposed”I take my approach from looking very closely at Yotam’s approach to his food,” said Meitlis, who has studios both in London and Tel Aviv.
    “It’s about taking very basic ingredients but using them in a slightly different way.”
    Pink terrazzo features on the walls and floorsThe clay plaster on the walls was made using recycled bricks, which provide the warm terracotta colour.
    The multi-tonal character of this material is emphasised by curving walls that offer a play of light and shadow.

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    Meitlis worked with artist Ivo Bisignano – who also designed the tableware collection – to create the restaurant’s distinctive floor, where pink terrazzo alternates with white tiles to create a striped effect.
    The same terrazzo also features on wall surfaces at the front of the space and behind the deli counter.
    Upholstered banquettes have a graphic feel, with cylindrical cushionsThe upholstered banquettes bring a geometric element to the design, combining blocky seats with cylindrical cushions. The choice of red fabric allows these to become the most eye-catching elements in the space.
    They are paired with white circular tables and Mies van der Rohe-designed MR Chairs, which introduce more curves.
    Curves are integrated in the wallsOther elements include the familiar deli counter, where the cakes, pastries and salads create an appetising display.
    “We usually start from scratch; almost all elements of the design are made specifically,” Meitlis told Dezeen. “The only items we bought were the iconic Mies chairs.”
    “Once again, it’s about mirroring the brand’s attitude; all the food is made in the kitchen, with few elements pre-prepared.”
    The facade features shades of yellow, blue and turquoiseOttolenghi Chelsea opened in January 2022 and is located on Pavilion Road, in a converted Victorian stable building that is now home to various independent retail brands.
    Dishes for Ottolenghi delis and restaurants are developed at the brand’s test kitchen in Holloway, which was recently overhauled by Studiomama with pops of saffron yellow and raspberry red.

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    Norm Architects conceives Xiamen's Basao tea parlour as an oasis of calm

    Danish practice Norm Architects has created an understated interior for the Basao teahouse in Xiamen that was designed to offer a “clear antidote” to the hustle and bustle of the Chinese port city.

    Basao takes its name from Baisao, a Japanese monk who lived during the Edo period and spent the latter part of his life wandering around Kyoto and selling tea.
    The Basao tea lounge is arranged around a Chinese stone counterHis Zen Buddhist writings were a key reference point for Norm Architects in the design for the “tea lounge”, which is meant to evoke a sense of tranquillity.
    “With room for quiet contemplation, the space is a clear antidote to our fast-paced on-the-go culture, instead immersing its visitors in the calming sounds of tea being prepared, poured and enjoyed,” the studio said.
    Seating around the counter provides views of the brewing processAt the heart of the store is a chunky counter crafted from speckled Chinese stone that is positioned beneath a coffered oak ceiling.

    Here, customers can order drinks and observe them being prepared from a couple of high stools.
    A wider variety of seating is assembled on one side of the room, incorporating different tactilities and shapes from suede poufs to wooden benches and a long banquette upholstered in chestnut-brown leather.
    More seating lies at the room’s periphery”Carefully considering the sense of touch, the experience of the space becomes an interplay of textures and temperatures in combination with contrasting polished and raw surfaces,” Norm Architects explained.
    To the other side of the lounge is a retail space, where Basao merchandise is showcased on black steel shelves.

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    More products can be presented on slim metal ledges and pivoting displays built into the tea parlour’s oak-panelled walls.
    Oakwood also covers the building’s facade, which was modified so that its walls are sloped invitingly towards the entrance.
    Black steel shelves display Basao’s products in the retail spaceThe facade is punctuated by huge windows that can be pushed up concertina-style to let fresh air and natural light into the interior.
    Alternatively, customers have the option of sitting outdoors on the terrace, which is decorated with a number of leafy plants.
    A large window allows the tea parlour’s interior to be opened up to the outdoorsBasao is Norm Architects’ first project in China.
    The Copenhagen-based practise has recently completed a number of interiors in its hometown including Notabene, a shoe store with warm industrial interiors, and a bookstore that takes design cues from old-school libraries.
    The photography is by Jonathan Leijonhufvud.

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    Oku restaurant in Mexico City features “floating tables” made of wood and steel

    Curved booths are suspended over a dining room at a Japanese restaurant in Mexico City designed by local firms Michan Architecture and Escala Arquitectos.

    The sushi eatery is located in the upscale neighbourhood of Jardines del Pedregal, across from a famed church known as Parroquia de la Santa Cruz del Pedregal.
    Oku is a sushi restaurant in Mexico CityIt is the second Oku restaurant designed by Michan Architecture. The other – which features a cave-like ceiling made of huge concrete lights – is found in the district of Lomas de Chapultepec.
    For the Pedregal location, the architects worked with another local firm, Escala Arquitectos. The team aimed to elongate the space’s proportions and take advantage of its height.
    The restaurant is Michan Architecture’s second of its kindRectangular in plan, the eatery has two levels. The lower level encompasses a sushi bar, indoor and outdoor seating, and a back-of-house zone.

    Additional seating is found upstairs, where a series of “floating tables” are arrayed along a corridor.
    “Floating tables” are arrayed along a corridor”The mezzanine level features individual tables hung from the existing structure, giving guests a unique dining experience,” the studio said.
    Two of the tables hover above the sushi bar, and two extend over the outdoor terrace. Each has wooden walls that enclose a single booth.
    Curved stairs connect Oku’s two levelsA similar enclosure was used for the stairs connecting the restaurant’s two levels.
    The dining pods are supported by light steel members that are welded into the building’s existing steel structure.

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    Above the mezzanine is a drop ceiling with curved cutouts that expose the steel framing and add height to the space.
    Moreover, the openings provide a “sensation of cutting and pasting the ceiling onto the tables”, the architects said.
    Cylindrical black lighting fixtures hang from the ceilingHung from the ceiling are cylindrical, black lighting fixtures, which merge electrical cables with structural elements.
    Throughout the restaurant, the team used neutral colours and clad surfaces in pine, pigmented stucco and panels made of glass-fibre-reinforced concrete (GFRC).
    The team used neutral colours and clad surfaces in pinewood throughout OkuThe effect is a “light and open atmosphere that plays with polished and raw finishes”, the team said.
    Other Japanese eateries in Mexico include Mexico City’s Tori Tori by Esrawe Studio, which features elements inspired by Samurai armour, and a restaurant by TAX Architects in the coastal town of Puerto Escondido that is topped with a thatched roof.
    The photography is by Alexandra Bové.
    Project credits:
    Architect: Michan Architecture and Escala ArquitectosProject team: Narciso Martinez, Benjamin Espindola, Emilio Gamus, Isaac MichanStructural engineer: Arturo Rosales + MdOMechanical, electrical, plumbing: RAGER, Rafael Barra

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    Stitched brick wall welcomes guests to Uchi Miami restaurant by Michael Hsu

    Masonry bricks are tied together to form a curved entryway at this sushi restaurant in Miami’s Wynwood neighbourhood, by Michael Hsu Office of Architecture.

    At Uchi Miami, the American firm aimed to create a “perfect contrast” between the materials, techniques and styles of Japan and Florida.
    Uchi Miami in Wynwood is fronted by a white structure wrapped in slats”Uchi tells a story of tactility, honoring Japanese tradition, but has been infused with local notes,” said Michael Hsu Office of Architecture.
    “Wrapping, layering and stitching, inspired by native art forms, apply sophisticated design to simple objects to elevate ordinary materials found in daily life.”
    A wall of woven bricks by Vas Bets greets guests upon entryFlanked by troughs filled with tropical plants, the entrance is surrounded by a pure white frame wrapped with vertical slats.

    Once through the glass doors, guests are guided around to the host stand by a curved wall of concrete blocks created by locally based artist Vas Bets.
    A chalk mural by Sam Angus Jackson is found above the sushi barThe blocks are tied together with rope, which weaves through their holes in a repeated pattern that is reflected in the polished floor.
    In the main dining area, a mix of banquettes, bar seating and high-top tables offers a variety of configurations for parties of different sizes.
    Warbach’s woven light fixtures create patterns across the ceilingThe wooden banquettes feature curved woven back panels and grey upholstered cushions – in a bouclé fabric for the backs and leather for the seats.
    Walnut table tops and ash chairs match panelling on the walls and ceiling, while other surfaces are lined with bright red and orange wallpaper.

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    Other artist collaborations within the restaurant include a hand-drawn chalk mural of jellyfish by artist Sam Angus Jackson, found above the sushi bar.
    Hand-woven wall hangings by Miami artist Elan Byrd decorate the series of private dining areas, which run along one end of the restaurant behind black-framed glass panels.
    Bright red wallpaper offers a contrast to the natural materialsPositioned over the bars and dining tables, lighting studio Warbach’s bespoke fixtures continue the woven motif.
    “The overhead large, custom basket light provides a warm glow to illuminate the wall’s shapes and textile-inspired characteristics,” said Michael Hsu’s team.
    The studio aimed to blend a variety of textures and materials throughout the restaurantMichael Hsu Office of Architecture has previously completed a restaurant with a curved wooden ceiling in its home city of Austin, Texas.
    The studio has also designed a remote home in Texas Hill Country and the interiors for Shake Shack’s headquarters in New York City.
    The photography is by Chase Daniel.
    Project credits:
    Owner: Hai HospitalityArchitect of record: Form Group ArchitectureGeneral contractor: City Construction GroupProject management: Amicon ManagementKitchen consultant: Trimark USAMEP: RPJ EngineeringLandscape designer: Plant the Future

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    Graypants converts slender space near Seattle into Tomo restaurant

    Dark-toned wood and golden light are found in this Washington bar and eatery by design firm Graypants that alludes to a Japanese urban alleyway.

    Tomo is located in the community of White Center, which lies just south of Seattle. The dining establishment – which specialises in eclectic, seasonal cuisine – is named after the owner’s grandmother, Tomoko, and the Japanese word for friend, tomodachi.
    Dark-toned wood and golden light define Tomo restaurantGraypants, which has offices in Seattle and Amsterdam, was charged with creating a distinctive space on a limited budget.
    “The brief was to create something handcrafted in a short amount of time, using a modest budget, offering room for as many guests as possible, while ensuring each seat felt like the best one in the house,” the team said.
    Graypants created the space on a minimal budgetHoused in a low-slung building along a main thoroughfare, the restaurant has a long and slender floor plan. The front facade features storefront-style glazing and charcoal-coloured brick.

    Guests step into a dark-toned room with golden lighting and ample wood.
    The design alludes to a Japanese urban alleyway”Narrow and inviting, the experience references an evening in one the endless alleyways of Japanese cities,” the studio said.
    “The architecture aims to be demure and humble, letting the food be the centre of the experience,” the team added.
    Oak shingles arranged like fish scales line the wall with seatingLining one side of the restaurant is seating, which stretches along a wall clad in oak shingles arranged like fish scales.
    To the other side is a bar, along with a kitchen enclosed within slatted walls made of ebony-stained ash.
    The bar features ebony-stained ash”Wood is a centrepiece of the space,” the team said. “The mingling of wood throughout the space creates an understated, monochrome texture.”
    Most of the lighting elements were integrated directly into wall panels, bench seating and bar shelves, enabling them to be “felt but not seen”, the designers said.

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    The exception is an 80-foot (24-metre) linear fixture that extends the length of the restaurant.
    The team sought to save money wherever possible, without compromising on design quality.
    Most of the furniture was designed by GraypantsGraypants, with help from the studio Fin, designed and fabricated most of the fixtures and furniture, including the lighting, seating and tabletops. This helped reduce costs and shorten the construction timeframe.
    Each piece of furniture was finished with a zero-VOC topcoat.
    The architecture aims to be demure and humble, according to its designersThe outdoor tables, kitchen cladding and bar-back were fabricated using Richlite, a durable and locally sourced material that is made of resin-infused paper.
    “The team carefully chose their moves – like simply polishing existing concrete floors and investing in finishes that feel complex but are efficient to install, lowering construction cost,” the studio said.
    “The cost per square feet of this project is, conservatively, 35 per cent below the benchmark.”
    Low lighting is used throughout the restaurantOther restaurants in the Seattle area include the Samara bistro by Mutuus Studio, which features rustic materials and earth tones that create a “sense of timelessness and comfort”.
    The photography is by Adam Joseph Wells.
    Project credits:
    Designer: GraypantsDesign team: Seth Grizzle, Bryan Reed, Caleb Patterson, Alan MarreroFurniture designer and manufacturer: FinOwner and chef: Brady WilliamsOperations: Jessica PowersGeneral contractor: Shawn Landis

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    Rockwell Group models Casa Dani restaurant in New York on Andalusian patios

    Olive trees and terracotta tiles create the impression of dining al fresco inside this New York City restaurant, designed by local firm Rockwell Group to resemble a traditional Spanish courtyard.

    The interior of Casa Dani, much like its menu, was conceived to celebrate the heritage of head chef Dani Garcia, who hails from the region of Andalusia on the southernmost tip of Spain.
    Terracotta tiles cover the walls and floors of Casa DaniThe restaurant is one of two high-end eateries found in the Citizens food hall in Manhattan West, which was designed by Rockwell Group and includes a number of bars and fast-food joints.
    Guests enter Casa Dani via a cosy lounge area with walnut parquet flooring, similar to what can be found in a typical Spanish villa.
    The restaurant is accessed via a cosy loungeOne side of the room is dominated by a drinks bar with a countertop crafted from deep-green marble and a base clad in slender tiles of the same hue.

    The other side of the room is panelled in stainless steel sheets, behind which lies the restaurant’s 30-foot-long kitchen.
    A band of glass running through the middle of the panels provides visitors with a direct view of the culinary theatrics that go into the preparation of each dish.
    Lantern-style lights hang above the tablesGuests must walk down a staircase with a leather-wrapped bannister to reach the vast dining room, where both the walls and floors are inlaid with terracotta tiles.
    Paired with hanging plants, lantern-style lights and a smattering of olive trees, this creates the impression of being in one of the central open-air patios found in traditional Andalusian houses.

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    Billowing lace curtains separate the banks of leather-upholstered seating, adding to the airy, al fresco feel.
    At the rear of the room, a towering fireplace is clad in glazed emerald-green tiles. Its rippling form is meant to echo the restaurant’s ceiling, which is covered in a sequence of convex panels.
    A huge fireplace sits towards the rear of the dining roomCasa Dani joins a number of hospitality projects that Rockwell Group has completed across New York City.
    Among them is Wayan, an Indonesian restaurant filled with an abundance of tropical plants, and the Moxy Chelsea hotel, which houses a mix of zany bars, eateries and space-saving guest suites.
    The photography is by Nikolas Koenig.

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