Di An Di is a Vietnamese Restaurant and Bar in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. The interior is meant to reflect the food and the culture of the restaurant itself - Fresh, bright, modern, and driven by community. The design/build team of Huy Bui and Michael Yarinsky tapped into the finest in the Brooklyn Design Community to manifest the vision of the founders, Kim Hoang, Dennis Ngo and Tuan Bui. Custom lighting is by Ladies & Gentlemen Studio, custom wallpaper is by Calico Wallpaper, wood surfacing is by Madera Surfaces, and the custom banquette framework was fabricated in the neighborhood at A/D/O.
Their name of the restaurant is an endearing phrase in Vietnamese between friends and families that translates to “Let’s go eat.” Brought to you by first generation Vietnamese-Americans, it features high quality Vietnamese food that's rooted in tradition but served in a contemporary, festive and resolutely New York setting. This is what the space delivers.
Photography by Charlie Schuck
Madera was founded with a clear objective: to offer high quality, beautiful and sustainable wood products for architecture and design, while having a positive impact on the environment and the local economy. By practicing a forest-to-floors approach and creating a direct link between clients and the source of the wood, carefully sourcing materials from sustainable sources, designing products in-house in their Brooklyn studio and manufacturing them locally in New York, they offer an alternative that is high quality, sustainable, and locally made.
In their recent expansion, Madera took over a turn of the century warehouse space just outside the Brooklyn Navy Yard in Clinton Hill. The existing structure was incredibly run down, but had the good bones and charm they desired. The design focused on maintaining the authentic character and detailing of the existing space while creating a boutique, almost “non-commercial” program and aesthetic throughout. The idea in many ways was to make the space a gallery for wood, rather than a sales floor. To that end, the simple use of natural sky lighting, highlighting the existing structure, and a subtle, yet powerful use of Madera’s own wood as a cladding material succeeds in making a modern space with much of the authenticity intact.
Programmatically, the design also challenges the traditional showroom experience. The office space is raised and out of view of the showroom floor, the space has an in-house wood shop for quick sampling, and the product is displayed in a minimalist (think Donald Judd) way. Upon entering the showroom one comes upon an art gallery within a repurposed industrial icebox named Cooler Gallery. The gallery serves to activate the space with a monthly exhibition and opening, but also to tie the Madera showroom to the surrounding eclectic and vibrant community.
madera-trade.com reformcph.com
Photography by George del Barrio
For Specht Architects
Photography by Lauren Coleman
IN PROGRESS
A/D/O is a creative space in Greenpoint, Brooklyn dedicated to expanding the reach of design. Built for designers and open to all. As it exists has a blend of styles and influences from the Scandanavian furniture of Restaurant Norman to the heavy Brooklyn furniture in the Workspace to the more utilitarian furniture in Urban-X. This proposal is meant to unify these very different aesthetics and to elevate the look so the space reads less as a tech incubator and more as a space for/by designers.
Key to this approach is bringing in certain elements from the existing design - Minimal Clean Lines and appreciation of Design Craft. Material, Color, and Texture are key in differentiating A/D/O from other co-working spaces and incubators. We should not shy away these because it is what will make the space pleasing and comfortable.
Also key is addressing the volume of A/D/O. This can be done both through creating Verticality in interiors elements, but also delicately crafting Architectural Programming to serve the needs of the spaces and the Workspace member.
Caroline Z Hurley produces beautifully designed textiles for the home - from block-printed upholstery fabrics by the yard to throws, pillows, rugs, and napkins. For their new space, Michael Yarinsky worked to create a new model for CZH - a street level showroom fully merged with a bustling design studio.
Conceptually Michael and Caroline wanted to merge the storefront, showroom, and the studio space. Through the use of custom “curtain beams” the space is able to be divided at times while showcasing product and without cutting down on too much natural light. Instead of walls, Michael opted for custom high back furniture to guide foot traffic. In the work areas, the furniture is light, delicate, and endlessly reconfigurable.
The showroom is meant to showcase Caroline’s textiles in-situ, but also show her incredible paintings within a living room setting with custom built furniture by Yarinsky. The flexible ground floor studio space also converts to an event space for dinner parties and other pop-up events.
The goal with the new studio was to give customers an experience - “We think the best way to showcase our fabrics and products is by feeling them as they would be in the home. We believe that feeling good in the world starts with how you feel in your home. “ Caroline Z Hurley
Photography by Charlie Schuck
For Janson Goldstein. This 100,000 SF Public-Private Indoor Lobby Park lies at the center of mid-town NYC. The design proposed a collonade of solid extruded glass columns that divide the space. Along the collonade are several programs; flower shop, coffee shop, music stage, newsstand, and restaurant. This project successfully created a very intimate experience for inhabitants within a large public space.
IN PROGRESS
Restauraunt Norman is the Brooklyn eatery run by Claus Meier of the Danish NOMA restaurant group. As it exists Is a large, voluminous, brightly lit restaurant situated on a corner with large-pane windows at street level. The open kitchen, stone bar, and immaculate detailing speak to a high level of craft that goes into the food served. Set inside A/D/O, it is inherently a space where designers and artists congregate.
This proposal is meant to elevate the experience of Norman though discrete interiors interventions that play on the existing restaurant. Key is creating a warm experience that is critical to making fine dining feel comfortable.
Cooler is an art gallery within a repurposed industrial icebox outside the Brooklyn Navy Yard — the physical border of large art, design, and manufacturing communities. The curation aims to reflect the essence of this intersection. Cooler Gallery seeks to be a breeding ground for thought at the crossing of fine art, design and manufacturing.
The design focused on showcasing art in an a-typical way. The small scale of the icebox paired with the large expanse of the showroom floor and the use of impactful materials are really what defines this project. Early on a decision was made to not try to create your typical white wall gallery. This has and continues to challenge artists showing at the space to take these constraints into consideration- to amazing results. Through site specific works and curated group shows, a feedback has begun to be seen between the art and the space itself.
For Specht Architects
Photography by Lauren Coleman
For Janson Goldstein. This 120,000 SF store was designed/built for high-end retailer Holt Renfrew. The design focuses on the architectural expression of the brand through the use of scale, articulated details, materials, patterns, light, and digital technology. The most striking design feature is the 600 LF facade, composed of 30 foot tall mirror-fritted glass with inlaid digital screens. These panels are then offset with a custom fin-shaped mullion to offset the glass panels and to allow rotation from panel to panel. This design will be the template for several more stores in the coming years.
Photography by Mikiko Kikuyama
For Janson Goldstein. This project was interesting because not only was it a 50,000 SF store plan and facade, but also because it was a complete brand launch and will now be the template for several more stores in the coming years. The design uses a combination of geometric patterns, dynamic lighting effects, and digital technology to create a wholly new retail experience defined by the architecture.
Photography by Mikiko Kikuyama
For the International Contemporary Furniture Fair in 2017. In partnership with Civilization and Visual Magnetics.
