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The NOVIY Tables
The NOVIY Tables
Moscow, Russia
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Other Projects by Potion
The NOVIY Tables
Moscow, Russia
Firm
YEAR
2011
Cast in solid concrete, the 20 interactive tables and 40 foot
interactive bar, exist at the center of the NOVIY experience. The
tables and bar are one of four interactive installations at NOVIY, a
2500 square foot restaurant and lounge located in the heart of Moscow.
Conceived in conjunction with the Alexander Brodsky-designed
restaurant, the bar and table surfaces extend the material-centric
design into the interactive dining experience.
When patrons are seated, the table appears in pristine form lit by a
soft gray light from above. The projected light spreads exactly to the
edge of the table, creating a sharp contrast between the table's level
surface and its two-inch tall edges. Soon after sitting, guests notice
a few leaves gently glide across and land on the table, blown by a wind
common to all of NOVIY's tables. Guests who reach for the leaves
realize that their movement guides the wind and causes the leaves to
scatter.
Over the course of the night, as guests eat and drink and food arrives
and disappears, the table's surface slowly begins to weather. The
once-clean concrete sprouts patches of dust and dirt, while hairline
cracks gradually widen into deeper and darker fissures. From these
crevices grow tufted strips of bright green moss dotted with little
yellow flowers. By the end of a two hour dinner, Mother Nature has made
her presence known.
The true interactive experience begins when guests receive a small
round token engraved with the NOVIY logo. The host or waiter then tells
them "This token is the key that unlocks the tables surprises." As
guests reach to place the token down, a small keyhole appears within a
circle, projected in glowing white light on the table from above.
Following their instinct, they place the token onto the keyhole within
the circle, and the experience begins.
A cluster of six icons in white, each with a token-sized circle, appear
near the center of the table. There is an icon for the food menu and
one for the drink menu. Next to those, an icon featuring an envelope,
and another with a bottle cap. And next to those, a paintbrush and a
lock. Placing the token onto each circle, guests begin to explore what
the table has to offer.
The food and drink, though separate entities, share a common design
that emphasizes clarity and easy of access. Both menus are presented in
a two-tier hierarchy following the organization of a traditional paper
menu. When guests touch an item listed in the menu, a brief description
of that item, written by the chef is quickly jotted in the chef's hand
on the notecard to the right. If the guests then decides they would
like to order that item, they can touch the pebble to the item's left
on the menu. This pebble then makes its way to a special area near the
top of the menu. The compact collection of selected pebbles forms the
guest's order and may be expanded at a later time to reveal all of
chosen items.
Second to the food and drink menus, the most popular feature of the
table is the messaging component, represented by the envelope in the
circle. Using this simple one-of-a-kind system, NOVIY's guests may
introduce themselves to one another, by sending brief missives to any
other guest seated in the room. Each message begins with a graphic,
chosen from almost thirty vintage magazine clippings scattered around
the message being composed. Once a message is chosen, a guest may
choose between one of several pre-composed bits of text and draft their
own. Having completed their message, guests may choose to send the
message, at which point they are presented with a map of the
restaurant, featuring their seat in blue. By simply touching another
seat located on the map, the envelope is instantly addressed. Within
moments, the sealed envelope is sent on its way, and arrives gently on
the recipients table.
Placing the token on the bottle cap in the circle lets guests enter a
game designed for the whole table to play. Building on a traditional
Russian children's game involving bottle caps, this game offers each
guest six bottle caps that appear in a column to their left or right.
One by one, they may shoot the bottle caps across the table. In an
unusual partnering of real and virtual, the bottle caps bounce not only
off each and the side of the table, but also the real objects sitting
on the table. Thus the game may be changed by moving the small plates
and glasses around the table.
For the handful of children who are brought by their parents to NOVIY,
the watercolor mode is a definitive favorite. This simple feature of
the table lets children and adults alike paint with their fingers.
Guests may choose a woodcut or a blank canvas to paint onto, and then
choose the colors from a watercolor-styled palette. Some guests paint
with just one finger while others choose to use their whole hand. In
either case, the effect feels like colored water is dripping from ones
hand on to table, while staying within the lines of the woodcut. Colors
naturally blend together, ensuring a beautiful end product regardless
of the guest's technique.
When the food arrives or when guests would simply like to interact with
each other, they may place their token on the circular lock icon. Doing
so clears their section of the table, including all of the other icons.
It also brings up a subtle warm glow about the size of a large plate in
the exact spot where the food will be served. This understated
spotlight improves the appearance of the food and directs visual focus
to the plate.
Clearly, the interactive bar and tables at NOVIY serve many functions.
They exist as decor and as lighting. They provide information and
entertainment. And they enable social engagement in a way that has
never been tried before. Exactly which one of these functions will
stand the test of time, and earn its place on the concrete it rests
upon, will no doubt remains to be seen.
interactive bar, exist at the center of the NOVIY experience. The
tables and bar are one of four interactive installations at NOVIY, a
2500 square foot restaurant and lounge located in the heart of Moscow.
Conceived in conjunction with the Alexander Brodsky-designed
restaurant, the bar and table surfaces extend the material-centric
design into the interactive dining experience.
When patrons are seated, the table appears in pristine form lit by a
soft gray light from above. The projected light spreads exactly to the
edge of the table, creating a sharp contrast between the table's level
surface and its two-inch tall edges. Soon after sitting, guests notice
a few leaves gently glide across and land on the table, blown by a wind
common to all of NOVIY's tables. Guests who reach for the leaves
realize that their movement guides the wind and causes the leaves to
scatter.
Over the course of the night, as guests eat and drink and food arrives
and disappears, the table's surface slowly begins to weather. The
once-clean concrete sprouts patches of dust and dirt, while hairline
cracks gradually widen into deeper and darker fissures. From these
crevices grow tufted strips of bright green moss dotted with little
yellow flowers. By the end of a two hour dinner, Mother Nature has made
her presence known.
The true interactive experience begins when guests receive a small
round token engraved with the NOVIY logo. The host or waiter then tells
them "This token is the key that unlocks the tables surprises." As
guests reach to place the token down, a small keyhole appears within a
circle, projected in glowing white light on the table from above.
Following their instinct, they place the token onto the keyhole within
the circle, and the experience begins.
A cluster of six icons in white, each with a token-sized circle, appear
near the center of the table. There is an icon for the food menu and
one for the drink menu. Next to those, an icon featuring an envelope,
and another with a bottle cap. And next to those, a paintbrush and a
lock. Placing the token onto each circle, guests begin to explore what
the table has to offer.
The food and drink, though separate entities, share a common design
that emphasizes clarity and easy of access. Both menus are presented in
a two-tier hierarchy following the organization of a traditional paper
menu. When guests touch an item listed in the menu, a brief description
of that item, written by the chef is quickly jotted in the chef's hand
on the notecard to the right. If the guests then decides they would
like to order that item, they can touch the pebble to the item's left
on the menu. This pebble then makes its way to a special area near the
top of the menu. The compact collection of selected pebbles forms the
guest's order and may be expanded at a later time to reveal all of
chosen items.
Second to the food and drink menus, the most popular feature of the
table is the messaging component, represented by the envelope in the
circle. Using this simple one-of-a-kind system, NOVIY's guests may
introduce themselves to one another, by sending brief missives to any
other guest seated in the room. Each message begins with a graphic,
chosen from almost thirty vintage magazine clippings scattered around
the message being composed. Once a message is chosen, a guest may
choose between one of several pre-composed bits of text and draft their
own. Having completed their message, guests may choose to send the
message, at which point they are presented with a map of the
restaurant, featuring their seat in blue. By simply touching another
seat located on the map, the envelope is instantly addressed. Within
moments, the sealed envelope is sent on its way, and arrives gently on
the recipients table.
Placing the token on the bottle cap in the circle lets guests enter a
game designed for the whole table to play. Building on a traditional
Russian children's game involving bottle caps, this game offers each
guest six bottle caps that appear in a column to their left or right.
One by one, they may shoot the bottle caps across the table. In an
unusual partnering of real and virtual, the bottle caps bounce not only
off each and the side of the table, but also the real objects sitting
on the table. Thus the game may be changed by moving the small plates
and glasses around the table.
For the handful of children who are brought by their parents to NOVIY,
the watercolor mode is a definitive favorite. This simple feature of
the table lets children and adults alike paint with their fingers.
Guests may choose a woodcut or a blank canvas to paint onto, and then
choose the colors from a watercolor-styled palette. Some guests paint
with just one finger while others choose to use their whole hand. In
either case, the effect feels like colored water is dripping from ones
hand on to table, while staying within the lines of the woodcut. Colors
naturally blend together, ensuring a beautiful end product regardless
of the guest's technique.
When the food arrives or when guests would simply like to interact with
each other, they may place their token on the circular lock icon. Doing
so clears their section of the table, including all of the other icons.
It also brings up a subtle warm glow about the size of a large plate in
the exact spot where the food will be served. This understated
spotlight improves the appearance of the food and directs visual focus
to the plate.
Clearly, the interactive bar and tables at NOVIY serve many functions.
They exist as decor and as lighting. They provide information and
entertainment. And they enable social engagement in a way that has
never been tried before. Exactly which one of these functions will
stand the test of time, and earn its place on the concrete it rests
upon, will no doubt remains to be seen.
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