ArchShowcase 
Sumit Singhal
Sumit Singhal loves modern architecture. He comes from a family of builders who have built more than 20 projects in the last ten years near Delhi in India. He has recently started writing about the architectural projects that catch his imagination. In Situ in California by Aidlin Darling DesignFebruary 28th, 2020 by Sumit Singhal
Article source: Aidlin Darling Design In Situ represents a unique and rich intersection of art, design, and food, each augmenting the other to reimagine museum dining, and our relationships with food. In support of Chef Corey Lee’s vision and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art’s (SFMOMA) greater mission, the design emphasizes visibility from the street, open accessibility to visitors and a sense of the ephemeral within a simple, comfortable environment.  The front lounge acts as a transition space between the Museum’s atrium and the street, Image Courtesy © Matthew Millman
 The sculptural wood ceiling reaches toward the street while creating an intimate setting within the building shell for the dining guests, Image Courtesy © Matthew Millman Inhabiting street-front space in the existing shell of the Mario Botta-designed portion of the reopened SFMOMA, the interior volumes of the previous museum café and an assembly hall were excavated, and left partially raw and exposed. Inserted in to this excavation is an interplay of floating white art walls, carefully placed to bracket space within the larger expanse of the restaurant. Strategically placed steel apertures and felt acoustic panels calibrate the zones of passage, both visual and physical, between the street and the restaurant, as well as the restaurant and the existing museum’s atrium. Together with the raw shell, these layers create a backdrop for discreetly placed “artifacts,” analogous to ingredients in their various states of refinement, strategically employed to engage the guest’s physical experience. All were inspired through a collaborative process with the intent of drawing contrast between the rough and the refined: custom designed lighting, custom furniture and a sculptural wood ceiling.  The nexus of the overlapping zones of the lounge area and the dining room is inhabited by the cantilevered host table, closely flanked by the concrete server table, Image Courtesy © Matthew Millman  Guests are afforded the ability to gravitate towards an experience of their temperament; perching at high tables in a communal environment or nestling into a lounge sofa for a more quiet conversation, Image Courtesy © Matthew Millman Approaching the restaurant off of the main thoroughfare of the street, a new steel window box and wooden door are incised onto the existing fabric of the storefront. Additional steel portals are inserted through the existing skin of museums wood paneled atrium; affording views from the atrium in to the restaurant, and vice versa, an evocation of a restaurant occupying the space along a public piazza. Once inside, an informal standing and sitting lounge area on the street side of the restaurant is envisioned as a shared living room for the street and museum, supporting a convivial atmosphere. Toward the back of the restaurant adjacent to the museum’s atrium, a quiet formal dining experience is supported by a more intimately scaled and acoustically muted space. An ephemeral full wall mural by Rosana Castrillo Díaz was commissioned for the energy of the front lounge area, while an aggregation of gold framed illustrations by Tucker Nichols was commissioned for subtle rigor of the dining area, tasked with drawing the eye from the street through the restaurant. The final art wall sets up a neutral canvas for a linear constellation of diners perched along a minimal banquette, making the patrons, and ultimately the food they are presented with, as the final ever-changing daily art commission. In Situ operates at many different scales from urban to intimate, designed to engage all of the senses with an emphasis on tactility and acoustics.  The presence of the kitchen is always within glimpse, yet not fully on display. The energized environment of the chefs is carefully bracketed with steel apertures, enhancing the energy of the processes unfolding beyond, Image Courtesy © Matthew Millman  In Situ represents a unique and rich intersection of art, design, and food, each augmenting the other to reimagine museum dining, and our relationships with cuisine, Image Courtesy © Matthew Millman  The sculptural wood ceiling draws the eye through the space, from the street, through the lounge to the dining area in the back, giving it warmth and scale, Image Courtesy © Matthew Millman  A hovering ribbon of cast concrete is populated by oak cabinets and steel shelves, setting up a hub for servers, Image Courtesy © Matthew Millman  The refined aesthetic and details of the dining area are anchored by a gracious solid ash communal table resting under a commissioned art installation by Tucker Nichols, Image Courtesy © Matthew Millman  Floating hewn wood communal tables stand in dialogue with a commissioned mural by Rosanna Castrillo Díaz. Custom pendant lights exude a sense of levity reinforced by the randomized piloti field supporting the wooden monolith, Image Courtesy © Matthew Millman  Image Courtesy © Matthew Millman  Image Courtesy © Matthew Millman  Comfortably tucked into the dining room, carefully curated steel apertures puncture a mediating layer of acoustic felt and blackened oak panels, affording views through to the existing museum atrium, Image Courtesy © Matthew Millman  Floating masses of salvaged cottonwood ascend from the low lounge to the standing lounge, allowing for varied dining experiences within a gallery-type environment, Image Courtesy © Matthew Millman  An organic wooden handle peels out from the blackened wood front entry door, incised with a precise arch for the pull, Image Courtesy © Matthew Millman  The full wall mural by artist Rosanna Castrillo Díaz reflects differential light conditions throughout the day, picking up the warm glow from the adjacent cottonwood tables, Image Courtesy © Matthew Millman  The gun metal patina exterior and gold leafed interior of the custom pendant lights are brought to life against the muted backdrop of the raked plaster building shell, Image Courtesy © Matthew Millman  Hewn wood boards slot into the base layer of the rough-sawn wood slat ceiling, Image Courtesy © Matthew Millman  Concept sketch and model exploration of the communal lounge table, Image Courtesy © Aidlin Darling Design  Image Courtesy © Aidlin Darling Design
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Tags: California, USA Categories: Interiors, Restaurant |
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