Hasta La Ideas

Dutch designer Piet Boon has transformed the interior of a former military hospital chapel in Antwerp, Belgium, into a contemporary restaurant featuring a sculptural chandelier.

Piet Boon‘s Amsterdam studio worked with lighting designers .PSLAB and artists Studio Job on the interior of The Jane restaurant, combining modern elements with the chapel’s high ceilings and patterned tile floor.

“The main features we retained in The Jane were the ceiling, of which the peeling paintwork was preserved, and the original pottery floor tiles,” the design team told Dezeen.

Described by the designers as “fine dining meets rock ‘n roll”, the restaurant accommodates its kitchen in the church’s former altar.

.PSLAB’s large chandelier made from steel and hand-blown crystal glass forms a centrepiece in the restaurant. Thin steel poles extend out in all directions from its central cylinder, with small crystal globes attached to the end of each one.

Black circular tables and pale green armchairs sit beneath the chandelier, while larger seating areas are positioned against the walls.

Studio Job created 500 colourful glass window panels to replace the former stained-glass windows.

Referencing “stories of good and evil, rich and poor, life and death as well as good food and religion”, the panels include images of sunflowers, devils and skulls.

A marble-topped bar is installed on an upper-level viewing platform and surrounded by black upholstered bar stools. An illuminated skull light hangs down at the rear of the space.

Bespoke speakers were also installed to “spread sound”, reducing noise and echo from the high ceilings. “The acoustics of the restaurant play an important role in speech intelligibility and ambiance,” added the designers.

Here’s some information from Piet Boon:

‘Divine’ fine dining experience The Jane opens its doors March 25th

Michelin-star chef Sergio Herman and chef Nick Bril created their “fine dining meets rock ‘n roll” restaurant vision together with Piet Boon over three years ago in a mythical location in Antwerp; the chapel of a former military hospital. Piet Boon® Studio, responsible for the interior design and styling of The Jane, since then collaborated in the chapel’s unique transformation into a high-end, contemporary restaurant with international allure where experience is key.

Piet Boon

Based on her belief in authenticity, functionality and materials that ‘age beautifully’ the studio chose to restore only the highly necessary in the chapel and hence preserve the rest. The original ceiling amongst others conveys the pure, understated and respectful environment that serves as the authentic host for the ultimate fine dining experience.

The original altar gave way to the kitchen that – just like the atelier – is embraced by glass, like a modern shrine. It allows guests to witness everything the team creates for them.

The shared passion of Herman, Bril and Boon to work with pure, rich materials is expressed in the interior in which qualitatively outstanding natural stone, leather and oak wood are used.

Moreover Piet Boon® Studio, as with many of her projects, collaborated with a number of leading creative partners to shape the “fine dining meets rock ‘n roll” character of the overall experience. Studio Job, Mathieu Nab and .PSLAB and others each delivered their signature part within the total concept.

Studio Job

Job Smeets and Nynke Tynagel of Studio Job designed the windows consisting of 500 unique panels. Inspired by the chapel’s original function, foam spatulas, sunflowers, devils, skulls, babies, Jesus on the cross, dice, apple cores, wrenches, ice cream cones, a canon, croissants, penguins, trophies, gas masks and birthday cakes portray a contemporary translation of the old stained-glass windows. Archetypes from various worlds each tell masterpiece stories of good and evil, rich and poor, life and death as well as good food and religion.

.PSLAB

The ‘piece de résistance’ in the centre of the restaurant is a 800 kilograms-weighing gigantic chandelier of 12 by 9 meters with over 150 lights, designed by the Beirut-based design studio .PSLAB. The chandelier was created in such a way that it contributes to the intimate and ambient divinity of the chapel interior. The team, specialised in the design and production of site-specific contemporary lighting, laid out an overall lighting plan for The Jane to accentuate the unique elements of both the building and the interior. It is aimed to create a scenic ambience by seamlessly combining artistry and engineering.

SERAX

Together with Belgian company SERAX, specialised in decoration accessories, Piet Boon® designed tableware that conveys a shared passion for attention to detail and perfection. Base by Piet Boon® is a high quality bone white porcelain collection combining functionality and design. The tableware has high thermal stability, is lead- and cadmium free and will be featured in the The Jane’s Upper Room Bar.

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as a restaurant by Piet Boon appeared first on Dezeen.

This conceptual restaurant covered in a patchwork of textiles is the final instalment in Polish designer Karina Wiciak’s series of fantasy interiors.

Karina Wiciak of Polish studio Wamhouse designed the twelfth and final imaginary restaurant in her XII collection to look like it’s been made from discarded material.

Titled Szmaciarnia, which means “rag-house” in Polish, the interior employs patches of leftover fabric stitched together haphazardly to form surfaces.

These grey, blue and beige materials cover walls, ceilings and the restaurant’s bar.

“Szmaciarnia is not a tribute to the idea of ​​recycling, but proof that the elegant interior may not just be created with popular glass or metal,” said the designer.

“The rough texture of the fabric does not need to be associated with cheapness and mediocrity, and the possibilities of its application are still endless,” she added.

Fabric is also draped over a reception desk and small swatches are used to form lampshades. The remaining surfaces are coloured white to provide a contrast.

Furniture such as chairs and stools first appear to be made from marble, but on closer inspection the veins in the material turn out to be stitched seams.

Other designs in the collection are inspired by a slaughterhouse, a sewing room and an artist’s studio.

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restaurant by Karina Wiciak appeared first on Dezeen.

Large glowing letters spell out the Portuguese  Spanish word for tea at the front of this tea house in Brazil by architects Estudio 30 51, the third cafe we’ve featured in the last seven days (+ slideshow).

Estudio 30 51 designed El Té for the ground floor of a shopping centre in Porto Alegre and installed the two huge wooden letters across the shopfront so that they frame the cafe’s entrance and serving counter.

“The fronts of the letters are backlit so at night time they work like urban lanterns illuminating the front of the store,” architect Gustavo Sbardelotto told Dezeen.

The colourful packaging of the teas provided the starting point for the shop’s interior design and create a rainbow effect along the edge of the glass-topped serving counter.

A range of 30 different teas are displayed across the sections and customers are invited to to sample and smell different types.

The rest of the space is lined with wooden panels to allow these colours to stand out. This includes the base of the counter, walls, doors and shelving.

White tables and simple wooden chairs fill the space, sitting over a floor of square paving stones.

More chairs and tables are located upstairs, or customers can choose to sit on outdoor furniture in front of the entrance.

Photography is by Marcelo Donadussi.

Here’s a project description from Estudio 30 51:

Tea house

Located in one of the most important commercial galleries in the city of Porto Alegre, El té – Casa de chás (tea house) focuses on the sale of teas and everything that involves the product.

The project concept was born from the immersion in the world of teas. All its colours, textures and aromas were the starting point for creating this environment. Wood was elected as the primary materiality of the project , acting as a neutral base where the colourful herbs are the highlight.

Due to the shop window be visually obstructed by the wall of the shop next door and be quite far from the sidewalk, the store needed a visual attraction that arouse the interest of those who passed through there. For that reason it was sought a synergy between the element of visual communication and architecture.

From the graphical representation of the words “El TE” chosen as store name, and that literally means “The Tea”, it was developed a pictogram identification of the tea house that is both visual communication and the main piece of furniture – this goes beyond the scale of a usual sign composing the facade and interior design of the shop.

On the face of “TÉ”, facing the street it was implemented a backlight that functions as an urban lantern, an exciting surprise to those who pass by the store by night. The depth of the letter “E” on the facade extends beyond the outer limit, penetrating inside the store and acts as the main design element. This element home the showcase of teas, infusions preparation desk and cashier.

The samples of 30 variations of teas are arranged in small drawers so that clients can smell the product before they decide which one they want to buy. The 30 variations of the infusions are indicated by different colours beneath each small drawer, which facilitates the identification of each tea by customers and creates a colourful scheme.

Architects: Gustavo Sbardelotto (estudio 30 51) e Mariana Bogarin
Location: Porto Alegre – Rio Grande do Sul – Brazil
Project Year: 2012
Area: 63,00 sqm

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El Té tea house by Estudio 30 51 appeared first on Dezeen.

British designer Tom Dixon‘s interior for Paris restaurant Éclectic combines raw, industrial concrete surfaces with tactile brass, marble and leather details.

Commissioned by restaurateurs Fabienne and Philippe Amzalak, the restaurant is the first flagship interior in France to be completed by Dixon‘s interior design office, Design Research Studio.

Located in the Beaugrenelle Centre – a redevelopment of a monolithic concrete shopping mall originally opened in 1978 – the 160-cover brasserie features materials and motifs intended as an homage to 1970s brutalist architecture.

“Tom Dixon began with the idea of making the restaurant an integral part of its modernist surroundings,” explained a statement from Éclectic. “The technical areas of the building are exposed for maximum space, and concrete – the superstar of brutalism – is exploited in every possible texture.”

Concrete floors are left raw in places and waxed in others, while structural columns and ceiling beams are left exposed and the material is juxtaposed with warm brass panels on the walls.

The angular forms popularised by exponents of Brutalist architecture influenced the recurring use of geometric shapes, which appear in the hexagonal wall panels, the sharp edges of the panels surrounding the circular booths, and a faceted plinth at the entrance.

Fitted furniture creates different environments throughout the space, while brass table tops and benches upholstered in fabric and leather give the seating areas a warm and tactile feel.

A long curving bench provides seating with a view of the river Seine through full-height windows.

The interior features several examples of Dixon’s furniture and lighting, including a huge central chandelier made from 124 of his Cell lights.

Pieces including high tables with inverted conical tops, rounded sinks in the bathrooms that resemble Dixon’s Void lamps, and the angular podium at the entrance provide a sculptural presence.

As well as the Cell chandelier, smaller clusters of the lamps illuminate tables, while Dixon’s Etch lights, Base lamp and Lustre pendants also feature.

Photography is by Thomas Duval.

The following information is from Éclectic:

Tom Dixon’s Éclectic opens in the Beaugrenelle Centre, Paris

After relooking Le Bon and launching Ma Cocotte, Fabienne and Philippe Amzalak open Éclectic restaurant this January in the magnetically attractive surroundings of the Beaugrenelle Centre in the 15th arrondissement of Paris. For this address within an address, the couple entrusted the design brief to UK designer Tom Dixon’s Design Research Studio: its first flagship interior in France. The menu offerings give a contemporary twist to brasserie classics in this new 160-cover eatery.

A happy marriage between Parisian chic and British eccentricity, a free-form tribute to 1970s architecture and a new take on the traditional brasserie format to create a more private and more comfortable experience. The clue to the identity of Eclectic is right there in the name: a concept that mixes influences on the menu and in the restaurant.

70’S First

Tom Dixon began with the idea of making the restaurant an integral part of its modernist surroundings. The technical areas of the building are exposed for maximum space, and concrete – the superstar of brutalism – is exploited in every possible texture.

On the walls, it alternates with a backdrop of golden brass. On the floors, it is sometimes unfinished, sometimes waxed, and interspersed with areas of thick carpet to offset its potentially cold appearance.

Hexagons are used as a recurring theme, recalling the geometric and modular concepts of the 1970s. This theme is clear in the spaces formed by the interlocking central bench seats, the brass detailing that frames the view to the kitchen, and again in the design of the 124 metal lampshades of the chandelier, which presides over the dining room as the central pivot of its decorative style.

English Twists

Lighting is central to Tom Dixon’s design scheme, which showcases his talent for creative mood making. An orchestra of different lamps provides controlled lighting designed to reflect effectively from superb surfaces of wood, metal, stone and paint, and enhance the colours used for fabrics and leathers.

This scheme creates an interior where the influence of the architectural environment is balanced against the magnetic appeal of the department stores.

The bespoke furniture is sculptural, even jewel-like in places. It structures the dining room around key elements that include the imposing coloured leather bench seats, the central alcoves and a succession of small open lounges along the wall overlooking the River Seine.

The result is a hyperquality mix-and-match that is elegantly welcoming and makes the 300 m2 dining room an intimate and friendly space.

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restaurant in Paris appeared first on Dezeen.

This baguette shop in Warsaw, Poland, by architects MFRMGR is modelled on market booths and stalls set up in the city during the 1990s (+ slideshow).

Polish firm MFRMGR, formerly known as Moko Architects, designed Serwus as a healthy and modern version of the traditional Zapiekanka stall, which served open baguettes topped with meat, vegetables, cheese and ketchup as a popular type of fast food.

“The entire spatial idea relates to the market booths where virtually everything was sold in Warsaw in the 90s,” said the architects.

“Generally, we have pleasant memories from that time when small businesses developed and huge changes took place in our country after the fall of communism,” they added.

Red and yellow steel frames – coloured to resemble ketchup and cheese – surround wooden serving counters, representing the framework of a market booth.

During construction the architects also exposed the original tiled floor, dating back to before the Second World War.

The interior is divided into five stalls. The first one is a welcome zone with the menu and cash register while the second zone separates the customer and staff area with a flap and gate.

The third stall is designed as an area for preparing sauces and storing ingredients. The fourth stall is the food preparation area and the fifth stall, in front of the window, features a high counter where customers can sit and enjoy their food.

Photography is by Jakub Certowicz.

Here’s a project description from MFRMGR:

Zapiekanka Bar

Recently, hamburgers and other types of food from distant places of the world have become extremely popular in Warsaw. However, we always felt sentimental about the typical Polish toasted baguettes called zapiekanka which were common fast-food in the 90s and were sold in hideous booths on markets or in trailers.

The basic zapiekanka was made with delicious baguette with mushrooms and real cheese with ketchup on top. Unfortunately, the typical tasty zapiekanka became extinct like the dinosaurs or we can say that they ate their own tail – instead of a yummy meal you could buy just a large frozen baguette with cheap ingredients (ham, cabbage, onion etc.) which was prepared in a microwave.

At Serwus we decided to experiment with the vision of zapiekanka. Apart from the reference to classics we created variations with original and healthy ingredients. Our offer is based on the idea of slow-food – each morning fresh products are prepared while the sauces (ketchup) is prepared using homemade methods. The ingredients, shape and size of the baguette was prepared by a partner bakery according to our guidelines. Zapiekanka is prepared in a fan oven.

The entire spatial idea relates to the market booths where virtually everything was sold in Warsaw in the 90s. Generally, we have pleasant memories from that time when small businesses developed and huge changes took place in our country after the fall of communism.

The small space features five such booths with different dimensions. Each stall is dedicated for a particular function in the process of preparing food. The structure of the stalls consists of powder-coated steel profiles which have the colour of ketchup and cheese. The frame of one stall is zinc-coated. Countertops and enclosures of the oven and refrigerators are made from softwood plywood coated with clear varnish. Round bulbs with visible filaments hang from horizontal steel connectors. Intensity of illumination can be regulated while the worktops can be illuminated with warm-colour fluorescent bulbs.

Each stall is equipped with all necessary elements for completing a certain function.
Stall 1 – welcome zone for the customer. This is where the menu and cash register is located. Under the counter there is a place for beverages and a small refrigerator. After ordering and paying the customer moves further into the restaurant.

Stall 2 – serves as a separation point between the customer zone and the employee zone. There is a flap and gate.
Stall 3 – the area for preparing sauces where the induction stove is installed. It also features the storage area for ingredients in plastic cases. It is possible to attach herb pots, knives, cutting boards etc. on the steel profiles.

Stall 4 – the area for preparing food, cutting bread and putting ingredients on the baguette. This area also features a large fridge, an oven and a storage area for bread in plastic cases. Apart from the multi-function hangers there is also a paper towel holder.

Stall 5 – the area for customers where they can enjoy their food, read a newspaper or have a cup of coffee. Due to the small space, this area features only a high counter where the guest can eat or talk to friends.

During renovation of this shop we discovered unique flooring from the pre-world war II period. The wooden frame where the glass panels were attached using putty was refurbished and repaired where necessary. The frame was coated with red varnish on the outside and cream-white varnish on the inside. We also successfully renovated the brass door handle. In order to easily locate the restaurant we have designed a neon light using old technology.

Project name – SERWUS – Zapiekanka Bar
Project city, country – Warsaw, Poland
Designers/architects – MOKO ARCHITECTS / MFRMGR / Marta Frejda , Michał Gratkowski /
Collaboration – Pamela Krzyszczak
Logotype – Lange & Lange
Status of project / expected completion – completed in 2013
Usable floor area: 18 m2

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on a market booth by MFRMGR appeared first on Dezeen.