Block Bistro

About the Project

The best small interior spaces have furnishings and design elements with more than one personality, more than one function. Traditional Japanese homes are a good example of this. Many contain Tansu stairs, or step chests. There’s the staircase, and then there are the drawers built into the staircase. These dual-purpose elements, or things that have more than one function, became the parti to this project.

In the spirit of the Tansu stair we designed a shell armature (a framework of sorts - as in the supports used by a sculptor when creating a model) that could be used to do multiple things. This armature is a wood structure that wraps around the space from one side to the other: it goes up one wall, across, and down the other wall. On the ceiling the armature becomes a place to organize ducts and lighting. On the wall between the armature spaces span shelves that are used to mount TVs and speakers or provide a place for handbags. Behind the bar, the spanned shelves hold bottles and provide a resting support for the bar. Then when it goes down to the floor the armature folds and it holds the seat.

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Key Features

Tansu wall
Design-built process

eclipse

Spaces

The room’s entire parti is this architectural element that does multiple things. With that, we pushed all the programmable requirements to the edges of the space, leaving the middle available for circulation. The bar was put in the corner, and around the bar we put the seating.

Functions

Lead / Prime Architect responsible for all interior design related functions on this project, including drafting, permit application and procurement, and construction administration

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