Hasta La Ideas

Life lessons, groomed gardens and butter-poached lobster at The French Laundry

When invited to The French Laundry, the answer, without hesitation, is a resounding yes. As a destination restaurant with a long waiting list, you never know when the opportunity will present itself again. American Express recently asked us to check out their By Invitation Only program—mentioning a harvest dinner…

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Sheets of tarpaulin roll up to reveal shelves for pots and condiments at a Seoul restaurant inspired by street food stalls by Lim Tae Hee Design Studio (+ slideshow).

Play Pot is a ‘boonsik’ restaurant offering the kind of small Korean snacks that are usually sold on the streets.

The tarpaulin on the walls mimics the tented coverings of temporary food stalls, with some sheets rolled up and tied while others are zipped shut.

Yellow and white material pinned to the ceiling also references the striped fabric of these tented canopies, while more stripes appear on the restaurant’s facade.

Cupboards painted in shades of purple and green form the base of the kitchen counter and potted flowers are dotted around between the wooden tables and chairs.

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Photographs are by Park Youngchae.

Here’s some more information from Lim Tae Hee Design Studio:

Play Pot is a Boonsik restaurant. Boonsik is a term used to refer to inexpensive Korean snacks easily found on Pojangmacha. (food vendor). The main idea behind Play Pot is ‘super luxury food vendor’: taking the favorites of what you love from the street and giving them a gourmet twist, while still keeping the accessibilty, inexpensive prices and customer service like a regular food chain.

By looking at the place, Play Pot brings the outside space into the interior space of the restaurant, creating a space within the space. The design took inspiration from pojangmacha (food vendors) which, although usually located in the middle of the street, are inviting spaces.

Play Pot’s sensibility was designed so that the interior space looks like exterior, breaking down the invisible barrier between exterior and interior space. The use of metaphorical road signs was an attempt to hint at this.

Plan – click above for larger image

From studying pojangmacha, the material and tarpaulin played a significant role. Tarpaulin is a heavy duty water proof cloth usually made with plastic. It is commonly used in normal food vendors in Korea. The material in itself has the quality of opacity that allows light to come through. This creates more interesting atmosphere than that of daytime, creating twilight or warm night time.

Tarpaulin wall – click above for larger image

Pojangmacha has its own merits and own culture. Zippers are used to make windows out of tarpaulin tents, or the rims were rolled up to make an entrance. Play Pot was a project that stimulates nostalgia, familiarity and recreates its own culture.

Facade – click above for larger image

Location: Bangbae dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul, Korea
Area: 77.62 sq.m.
Function and purpose : Boonsik restaurant
Materials: Exposed concrete, paint finish, plywood, tarpaulin
Design time: April – June 2012
Date of completion: June 2012
Designer: Lim, Taehee
Design team: Lim Tae Hee design studio
Construction company: Jo, Woogon
Collaboration Artist: U.JA design lab

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Lim Tae Hee Design Studio appeared first on Dezeen.

Rows of interchangeable tiles spell out what’s on the menu at this fast-food pasta outlet in Tel Aviv, designed by Studio OPA as a “tribute to Scrabble”.

The tiled menu board above the kitchen and counter is made from oak and bent tin.

With only 35 square metres of space to be utilised, Studio OPA solved the problem of storage by placing items from the kitchen on display shelves in the dining area.

Green, grey and black patterned tiles decorate the wall near the window.

The glazed facade provides continuity with the green and white seating outdoors.

We previously featured another Tel Aviv restaurant by Studio OPA – a pop-art pizzeria with soup cans covering the walls.

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Photographs are by Yoav Gurin.

Here’s some more information from Studio OPA:

Avanti – fast food pasta

Located in the centre of Tel Aviv, Avanti is an extra-small space of only 35 sq. m. including the kitchen, the counter and the dining area.

The lack of storage space resulted in us having to display the kitchen products to all. The display was made of a bent 4 mm tin.

Made of oak tree and bent tin, the menu board is a tribute to Scrabble and was built with the idea of having the flexibility to change every day according to the chef’s wishes.

A square wall made of coloured tiles is a homage to a classic Italian restaurant.

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by Studio OPA appeared first on Dezeen.

A screen made from century-old bricks divides this Japanese restaurant in Sydney, designed by Australia and Japan-based architects Facet Studio.

Facet Studio inserted the wall to provide a new route from the restaurant’s entrance to the tables.

Low steel beams jut out from the adjacent wall to steady the bricks.

Previous projects by Facet Studio we’ve featured on Dezeen include a shop in Sydney full of vending machines that dispense T-shirts and a vintage boutique in Osaka with shelves made from stacked timber.

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Photographs are by Andrew Chung.

Here’s some more information from the designers:

This is an existing Japanese restaurant popular with regular customers who are after the chef’s specialty dishes. It seemed to have captured the regulars with not only the deliciousness of cuisine but also the indefinably nostalgia-filled space. So how do we enhance the experience of appreciating the cuisine, without destroying this atmosphere treasured by regulars? As we have been working with ‘repetition’ as a means to build up a deep excitement within people, we thought to utilise this effect to enhance, rather than break, this indefinable nostalgia.

There we designed a new circulation path from entry to table, by ‘repeating’ the recycled bricks from 100 years ago (in response to the indefinable nostalgia) and rustic raw steel (in response to the client’s preference). It is a tunnel to enhance expectation towards the cuisines when one proceeds towards the table. The longer the distance of travel, the more room for enhancing this expectation.

The ‘brickwall with 1/3 of its length punctured’ and ‘brickwall with 1/4 of its length punctured’ alternated for a lengthy 15m. The raw steel louvres, located 1m below the existing ceiling, correspond with the rhythm of the brick screen by spacing at one or two brick lengths. The resulting light and shadow create a repetitive rhythm, coming together in the tunnel. This repetitive rhythm enhances expectations, which in turn enhances the sensitivity to taste. When one reaches the table, it is the time the desire for the cuisine reaches its peak.

Programme: Restaurant fitout
Project team: Yoshihito Kashiwagi, Olivia Shih, Neo Di Sheng, Benjamin Chan
Location: Sydney, Australia
Area: 77 sq. m.
Year: 2011

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by Facet Studio appeared first on Dezeen.

Minneapolis retail innovators Eric and Andrew Dayton talk about their one-stop shop

By Joan Erakit

Askov Finlayson owners and founders, brothers Eric and Andrew Dayton believe in a simple design philosophy: keep it fun. The lighthearted approach they took to their men’s retail store in Minneapolis’s North Loop neighborhood highlights their personal style and aesthetic while removing any pretense. Founded in October 2011 as the retail component to their space that also includes their Nordic-style restaurant, The Bachelor Farmer, and Marvel Bar, Askov Finlayson rounds out the offerings while reflecting their sense of entrepreneurial creativity.

The handsome space features wall-to-wall exposed brick, high ceilings and antique rugs, making for the prime setting to showcase a selection that can be hard to come by in Minnesota. Merchandised with the idea of creating a comfortable space reflective of the Daytons’ laid-back style, the arrangement of clothing and accessories among home goods and design objects makes the visitor feel at home while shopping.

We dropped by Askov Finlayson to chat with the brothers during their annual Krafstkiva festival, a traditional Nordic celebration in August boasting fresh crayfish, live bands and plenty of brews.

What was the concept behind Marvel Bar, The Bachelor Farmer and Askov Finlayson? Why all three spaces in one location, and why here in Minneapolis?

Eric: Well, this was a neighborhood we knew well. We both live nearby—just down the river from here—so we go to Moose and Sadies for coffee and we visit the small shops in the area. It was still pretty early on in the development, so it was a neighborhood we saw heading in a promising direction and would be something exciting to be a part of, and that was as far as our thinking had gone. We weren’t really actively looking, it was just something fun to think about. We were both away at different grad schools outside of Minnesota, and I heard from a friend about this particular building—this guy who owned it for 30 years or so and kind of tinkered around in here, and he would never entertain offers and wasn’t interested in selling. So it wasn’t an abandoned building, but it was a pretty closed-off building.

Andrew: There was a little sign on the front door—which is now the retail space—and he must have gotten a lot of inquiries because he had a little sign up on the door that more or less said, “Not for sale. Don’t even ask. Go away.”

So how did the building end up in your hands?

Eric: It went from the “Don’t even bother asking, go away” building to finally there being a little “For Sale” sign in the window, and a friend called me. I was out in California at school, and my friend said that the building is now for sale and you should check it out. So it began with a phone call inquiry, and then I came home from California. I spent more and more time in the building, and because there was a lot of space—it was probably more space than we would want to do just a store or just a restaurant, or just a bar—it became this opportunity to combine a few different ideas and shared interest that Andrew and I had. We could just sort of see how it could fit well together. It was something that we’d seen in other places done well—maybe it was in the same building, maybe it wasn’t. For example, a hotel where you have a restaurant and a bar, and maybe there’s a retail component. We liked the idea of the three different pieces, each being separate, each having its own identity, but working well together and driving energy that would be shared between businesses.

You might come from dinner and stay for a drink, or come to shop and then meet and friend for dinner—whatever people want to do with it—but it could also be kind of a community hub and something of a clubhouse feel without the private membership aspect—a place where people could feel at home.

What went into designing the retail space?

Andrew: The store was…I don’t want to say the “least” planned-out, because we put a lot of work into it, but when we built out the restaurant, we worked with a contractor that had experience with projects of this magnitude and really helped us do a great layout in terms of what was best for the diners, what was best for the kitchen and everything else. That was a main focus of our dealings—same with the bar. But for the store, we decided that we were going to go a different route, and we worked with a local woodworker who helped us conceptualize the space and built the main point-of-sale stand, the moving racks and the bench on the window sill. Beyond that, it was just found tables, two chairs from my apartment and a rug from my apartment.

Wow, it really came together on a shoe string.

Andrew: Yeah, we wanted it to feel eclectic to a certain extent. The merchandise is a representation of items that we’ve found and fallen for over the years, and we wanted the components and fixtures of the store to feel the same way. As opposed to working with a contractor to build it out, we put it together ourselves. It was fun.

Eric: It’s the space that’s evolved the most since we opened. When I think of where it was when we opened and where it is now, it’s been fun to see it evolve as we’ve added more brands and expanded in new categories. Now with the help of Charlie Ward—who is the studio assistant for Alec Soth, the photographer whose work we have hanging in the main dinning room—we are putting together some really great art books. Now it’s like, “Where are we going to put all our art books?” We go out to the salvage shops out in Northeast, and we find an old baker’s rack, and now we’ve got that for books. With the restaurant and the bar we sort of knew what those needed to look like from the beginning, whereas with the store, we’ve kind of been learning or moving things around, and it’s not done even done yet.

Do you guys do all the buying for your merchandise?

Andrew: Yeah, we were in New York just two weeks ago for market week, and we’ve been out there about three times. We opened the store last October, and the restaurant last August, so the first time we went out there, we didn’t have a space, we had business cards. It was sort of interesting walking out there and trying to sell ourselves. We basically said, “We’re going to open this cool store. You can’t see it yet, it doesn’t exist, but sell us your stuff.” Fortunately folks were willing to take a leap of faith with us.

Eric: We really had to trick the first couple of brands into selling to us.

Eric: I can’t remember who we lined up first, but I think it helped that, in Minneapolis, we were going after brands that weren’t here and so they were excited for a new market. We also explained the whole project and they where excited by that, but we really had to bluff our way through those first couple of meetings.

Andrew: The whole project is personal to a certain extent. We put a lot of our time, energy and resources into getting this off the ground, but the store in general, I’d say, is the most personal. With the restaurant we’ve been able to manage thee vision and drive it forward, and really rely on our team and great management. We’re not cooking the food, and you wouldn’t want me serving your table. It’s still really a meaningful part of what we do every day, but it’s not personal at the level of the store, where we’re going to New York and making the final call in what we’re carrying. So in that sense, it’s sort of the most hands-on project.

In the selection process with the brands that you’re bringing in, do they mimic your own personal styles?

Andrew: Yeah, I think there’s a lot of overlap between Eric’s and my personal taste. We’re not redundant, we have different perspectives to a certain extent and there’s enough that we disagree on where I think the selection process is paired down to what is usually the better result.

When someone comes into any of the three spaces, is there a specific experience you want them to have?

Eric: We want them to have a good time and to have fun. Something we had in mind with the restaurant and the bar—without going overboard or hamming it up—was how many different moments can we create to make someone smile, where there’s going to be a little unexpected detail. Maybe they’ll miss it, maybe they won’t care, but if they notice it and they do care, they will appreciate that we were thoughtful about whatever that is. There’s hopefully a sense of fun or whimsy and playfulness in the design, and it’s not meant to be too self-conscious or taken too seriously. There are a lot of colors and patterns, and it’s meant to have a good energy that way—I’d say downstairs especially with Marvel, but also in the store as well. There’s substance and quality in everything we carry, but it’s meant to be fun.

Andrew: I think people experience it in different ways too. Some people come into the restaurant and what wows them is the history of the building. It’s this great old space which was built in 1902, and the front portion where the store lives was built in 1881. There’s a lot of history here and I think some people come in and they’re excited by the historic setting of the meal or the historic setting of the shopping experience—and some people come in and they’re excited by the design, the colors and the patterns. In the store, people may come in and come across a great classic Barbour coat that has a real timeless feel to it, or someone might come in and be drawn to something a bit more ambitious with colors and whatnot. I think it’s been set up in a way where people can sort of take from it what they want.

Images by Taimoor Dar