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    ALA draws on West Village history for Talea taproom interiors

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    New York studio Alda Ly Architecture has designed a taproom for female- and veteran-owned brewery Talea in the city’s West Village neighbourhood, which includes a place for groups to “scheme”.

    Talea West Village is the beer company’s third outpost and its first Manhattan location, following two established in Brooklyn.
    The main dining and drinking area at the Talea West Village taproom is anchored by a colourful barThe space is located in a 1920s building on Christopher Street, an iconic thoroughfare that’s home to several landmarks, businesses and historic spaces associated with the LGBTQ+ rights movement.
    “This new taproom on Christopher Street reclaims the masculine identity of a West Village saloon to celebrate voices of women and LGBTQ+ communities in the Village, all while serving Talea’s popular sour brews in an elevated, vibrant space,” said Alda Ly Architecture (ALA).
    Bright hues chosen by ALA for the space include yellow for tiles, green seat backs and red dining chairsFlooded with natural light thanks to large windows along the street facade, the main space is anchored by a purple-fronted bar with a curved white quartz countertop in one corner.

    Behind, numerous beer taps are mounted onto a yellow-tiled partition, while glassware and cans are displayed on shelves above.
    Exposed brick and stone floors allude to a saloon-style aestheticThe bar is lit by Junit oak pendants from Schneid Studio and brass Dottie sconces by Visual Comfort are mounted around the perimeter.
    “We opened up the space to provide as much open area for the front dining room, and brought the bar front and centre to highlight the taps with their extensive selection of beers,” said ALA founder Alda Ly.
    The taproom was designed to celebrate its location in the West Village, which has played an important role in LGBTQ+ history”We wanted the bar to be a welcoming beacon for all people in the neighborhood,” she added.
    The other side features built-in, stained-oak seating and small circular tables against an exposed brick wall.
    Behind the bar is The Revolution Room, intended for larger groups to gatherPale green backrests and muted red Scroll dining chairs from Industry West continue the interior’s bright colour palette, which is also echoed in the works by local artists displayed on the walls.
    “It was important to us to capture the spirit of Talea in a space that felt elevated but also very warm and welcoming,” said ALA project director Marissa Feddema.

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    Past the bar is a more intimate space called The Revolution Room, designed for groups of eight to 10 people to “scheme, hang and gather” according to the team.
    A large table sits below a Nuura Miira 8 Oval chandelier that’s suspended from a skylight, and more brickwork is exposed to add to the saloon-like vibe.
    At the back is the Snug, a cosy space furnished with jewel-tone piecesFurther back still, patrons will find the Snug – a much darker and cosier room decorated with jewel-toned furniture, navy limewash painted walls and a vintage fireplace mantle.
    The moody bathrooms are adorned with images of prominent local residents and gender activists through the years, further emphasising the neighbourhood’s importance to the LGBTQ+ community.
    Images of prominent local residents and gender activists are displayed in the moody bathroomsThe West Village is packed with bars and restaurants, from upscale dining spots like Cecchi’s to casual cocktail places like Donna.
    Close by, in the Union Square area, ALA has previously designed the interior for a doctor’s office and clinic with earthy and homey details.
    The photography is by Brooke Holm.
    Project credits:
    Architect and interior designer: ALA (Alda Ly, Marissa Feddema, Sheridan Treadwell, Marlee Anderson)MEP engineer: Tan EngineeringGeneral contractor: Aerial Design & Build

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      Studio Becky Carter creates “distinctly New York” interiors for Cecchi’s restaurant

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      Brooklyn-based Studio Becky Carter has pulled varied references, from Bauhaus luncheonettes to comedic characters, for the interiors of a bistro in Manhattan’s West Village.

      Art deco dining rooms, 1960s Milanese architecture and “a distinctly New York feel” are all evoked at Cecchi’s, the first establishment from veteran restaurant maitre d’ Michael Cecchi-Azzolina.
      At the entrance to Cecchi’s, pistachio leather banquettes sit below a mural by Jean-Pierre VillafañeStudio Becky Carter was given creative control to produce an environment that felt distinctively New York, but also presented a departure from the typical bistros.
      “My style is retro-futurist, so I take strong cues from historic design narratives and process them through the lens of an imagined future society,” Carter told Dezeen. “When people enter Cecchi’s, I want them to feel like they’ve stepped into old-school, underground, NYC exclusivity, only this time everyone is invited.”
      Elements retained from the space’s previous iteration as Café Loup include a marble lectern used as a host standA starting point for the design was the whimsical murals of artist Jean-Pierre Villafañe, who was brought on early in the process to create scapes for the restaurant’s walls.

      His “transportational” depictions of lively party scenes helped to inform the colour palette for the rest of the space, a mix of reds, blues and tonal browns.
      Villafañe’s murals informed the colour palette for the restaurant’s interiorsSome of the dancing figures appear as historic European comedic characters, so Carter also looked to these for influences.
      The spheres placed within dividing screens, for example, are reminiscent of those found on a Pierrot costume, a figure in French pantomime theatre, while mosaic floor tiling at the entrance is adapted from Harlequin patterns.
      Large columns and louvred dividers break up the space into different yet visually connected areas”The beautifully finished spheres are just so tactile,” said Carter.”I can’t not touch them every time I’m in the restaurant.”
      The long, narrow space posed several challenges, such as the lack of natural light towards the rear and large structural columns that interrupted the flow.
      The mahogany bar top was also retained, while high-gloss burgundy lacquer was added to the frontCarter’s approach involved dividing up the restaurant into multiple areas, demarcated by the wood-wrapped columns, louvred dividers and built-in seating – all at different heights to allow visual connections across them.
      At the entrance, pistachio green leather banquettes occupy the bright window niches, then the mood shifts to darker and cosier as guests venture further inside.
      Soft lighting around the bar adds to the mood in the spaceSeveral elements from the space’s previous iteration as Café Loup were retained or refinished as part of the new design, including the mahogany bartop and the restored caned bistro chairs.
      The marble lectern that serves as the host stand and a chrome cash register were also saved, while 1970s Czech lighting was introduced overhead.

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      White tablecloths lend to the classic, old-school atmosphere, while contemporary details like custom wall sconces and the burgundy lacquered bar front add a more casual twist.
      “Michael envisioned the servers being able to pull up a chair and have a conversation about the menu in a convivial manner, and the style was to reflect this,” Carter said.
      A private dining room for parties is located at the back of the restaurantA private room for parties at the back features another Villafañe mural, as well as a rust-coloured ceiling and sci-fi lighting.
      Overall, Cecchi’s offers a fine-dining experience that still feels approachable, warm and not too serious.
      The private room features another Villafañe mural, as well as a rust-coloured ceiling and sci-fi lightingCarter founded her eponymous studio in 2016 and has completed a mix of residential and hospitality spaces on both coasts.
      Other recently completed restaurants in the US that feature retro-futurist interiors include 19 Town, a Chinese eatery in Los Angeles by Jialun Xiong, while new openings in the West Village include the worker-owned Donna designed by Michael Groth.
      The photography is by Joseph Kramm.

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      Michael Groth uses natural and recycled materials inside New York’s Donna restaurant

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      New York designer Michael Groth collaborated with a Moroccan artisan cooperative to create the wall hangings for this worker-owned bar and restaurant in the West Village.

      The opening of Donna’s new location on Cornelia Street follows the closure of its Williamsburg spot in December 2020 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
      Michael Groth has designed the new Donna outpost in New YorkServing a pan-Latin menu with Mediterranean influences and Filipino-inspired cocktails, the restaurant and bar is now a worker-owned cooperative, with original owner Leif Young Huckman acting as an advisor.
      To reflect this shift, Brooklyn-based Groth aimed to imbue the design of the new outpost with references to the previous location while nodding to Donna’s revised business model.
      Earth-toned limewash plaster was applied to the walls in geometric patternsHe drew influences from the constructivist art movements of Latin America in the 20th century and particularly the work of artists Sandu Darie, Pedro Alvarez and Lygia Clark.

      Donna is decorated with earth-toned limewash plaster, applied to the walls in geometric patterns that echo the brand’s visual identity.
      Groth created wall hangings in collaboration with artisan cooperative The AnouExposed brickwork is painted white, forming a plain backdrop for the circular wool wall hangings that Groth created in collaboration with Moroccan artisan cooperative The Anou.
      Together with wool floor rugs, these help to dampen the acoustics while lime plaster assists in regulating humidity, according to Groth.

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      The tables are crafted from reclaimed Douglas fir flooring and stained plywood was used to build the banquette seating that wraps the perimeter.
      Bar-back shelving and floors were repurposed from the unit’s previous tenant, while the bar tops were fabricated by Brooklyn Stone and Tile – another worker-owned cooperative.
      Tables are crafted from reclaimed Douglas fir”The use of any new materials was limited to those that are natural and biodegradable, keeping in mind the holistic effects of resource extraction, human health and equity, and circular material cycles,” the Donna team said.
      Pendants lights above the bar have shades made from mushroom mycelium, which according to the team presents “an environmentally holistic approach to material creation that poetically reflects Donna’s equitable business model”.
      The pendant lights above the bar feature mycelium shadesNew York City’s dining scene was upheaved during the pandemic, with many eating and drinking establishments forced to either adapt or shutter.
      As a result, sidewalk dining shelters sprung up across the city, as documented in these photographs by John Tymkiw.
      The photography is by Nicholas Ruiz.

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      No Architecture inserts “garden folly” into New York duplex apartment

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      Wooden structures supporting net hammocks rise up through the two-storey interior of this apartment in New York’s West Village, designed by No Architecture.

      The Urban Tree House residence comprises two units in a skyscraper overlooking the Hudson River called 165 Charles Street, designed by Richard Meier & Partners and completed in 2005.
      A spiral staircase connects the pair of timber towers added into the double-height living space”We combined two units by first, redrawing all rooms into a cohesive ‘matrix plan’ and second, inserting a ‘garden folly’ that relates the interior to the adjacent Hudson River Greenway,” said New York-based No Architecture.
      Spanning 3,512 square feet (326 square metres), the apartment’s new double-height living space is surrounded by 22-foot-tall (6.7-metre) glass walls on three sides.
      Net hammocks are suspended above seating areasTo reduce the scale of this volume without blocking the light from entering, the architects added two “tree houses” constructed from vertical, horizontal and diagonal timber beams.

      One of the structures aligns with the home’s floor plan, while the other is rotated to face the park and the river beyond.
      One structure is aligned with the floor plan and the other is angled to face the park and river beyondBoth incorporate elevated hammocks made from black netting stretched between the beams, which are accessed via a spiral staircase between the two towers.
      “Like inhabitable diagrams, these installations can be read as two fragments of a 3D gridded matrix – the timber framework expressing x-, y- and z-lines of interconnecting spatial relations,” said No Architecture.
      Rooms are made flexible thanks to operable walls, like a bookshelf that rotates 360 degreesUnder and around these structures, tall plants add to the tree house aesthetic, and furniture is coloured in grey and neutral shades to match the exposed concrete columns and ceilings.
      This palette continues throughout the apartment, which includes four bathrooms and four bedrooms that the architects refer to as “chambers” due to their multi-functional capabilities.

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      The flexibility is made possible by a series of operable walls that can be shifted to control levels of privacy or connectivity.
      For example, giant moveable bookshelves divide the open living space and adjacent chambers. One slides sideways on tracks, while the other rotates 360 degrees.
      Douglas fir panelling is used throughout the apartmentThe same concept is applied to several of the doors, which are detailed to match the full-height Douglas fir panelling found in many of the rooms.
      “Across these multiple iterations, the architectural question of the ‘wall’ no longer functions primarily as separation, but also –through the added quality of motion – as connection,” No Architecture said.
      A neutral and grey palette complements the exposed concrete structureThe studio was founded by Andrew Heid in 2014, and has completed projects across the US – from a family nature retreat in rural Massachusetts to a house designed around a glazed garden in Oregon’s wine country.
      The Urban Tree House is one of many homes that incorporates net hammocks as playful furniture to occupy spare space – see six examples here.
      The photography is courtesy of No Architecture.
      Project credits:
      Team: Andrew Heid, Chengliang Li, Chuhan Zhou, Feng Zhao, Kun Qian, Nadya Mikhaylovskaya, Theo Dimitrasopoulos, Trendelina Salihu, Wanpeng Zu, Xiangxiang Wang, Zhe Cao, Ziwei DengCollaborators: GMS, Gallon Engineering, Blueberry Construction

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