Restaurants and bars call upon all of the senses, not just taste, to establish an emotional connection with customers. They rely on their architecture and decor to establish a visual identity that reflects ...
William Beauter, co-founder, principal, MAKE architecture, Los Angeles
| Tweet |
Sometimes big design comes in small packages, such as MAKE's design for Santa Monica's Bodega Wine Bar, the 1,500 square foot yogurt restaurant Peach House in San Gabriel, Calif., and Real Raw Live, Hollywood's new 2,000-square foot raw food restaurant. Here, William Beauter talks about thinking big, working "small" and making less sell like more.
How do you create impact when you can't layer in a lot of elements?
With tight budgets and spaces, there's little luxury afforded for fluff or ornamentation. To make the most of the space, we look for opportunities to generate beauty with basic functional elements. If we need tables shelving and a service counter, we consider how we can utilize these necessary elements to create a striking space.
With Real Raw Live, the clients wanted the space to have a very active marketplace feel that could evolve continually. First, the design had to draw attention to itself and second, it had to draw passers-by physically into the space. The "draw" begins at the street with each of the two primary interior elements-the axis that runs down the center of the space and a glossy white panel that winds its way through the space--surging from the exterior façade.
In Peach House, the tables and service counter are extensions of the wall surfaces-the main design feature of the space. Both are essential to the functioning of the space, so mixing them into the design spirit celebrates each of them rather than creating a focus on unnecessary things.
How do you create a theme in a small space without overstatement?
Our design inspiration varies for each project from site- to spatial-driven characteristics. We also draw inspiration from how the client will utilize the space. For Bodega Wine Bar in Santa Monica, we exposed the building's existing wood truss structure and brick piers to contrast with more streamlined aspects of the furniture and fixtures. A new raised teak lounge area incorporates a glass façade that passes just beyond the existing brick pier and absorbs it to the interior. The combination of brick and wood, along with a sinuous rear wall, work to complement and highlight each other.
The bottom line: Function is the key to great design when space is at a premium. Making necessary elements pull double duty as design features allows creativity to stretch. "Mixing functional elements into the design spirit of the space celebrates each of these necessary elements rather than create a design focus with unnecessary items that clutter the design," Beauter says.
Did you enjoy this article? Click here to subscribe to the magazine.
