PSLAB’s
primary aim was to highlight the multiple sections that comprised the site all
the while integrating with the restaurant’s unique industrial style. The
restaurant, characterized with a high cathedral-like ceiling required a
lighting intervention that was both minimal and fits with the interior’s modern
concept. The lighting interventions differed depending on the sections; however
the light fixtures used for each section followed the same style to maintain
the concept of one single space.
A
major insertion was made to the restaurant’s ridge beam, in the form of
suspended black metal rods equipped at its extremity with a light bulb. These
suspensions, placed above the central concrete table in a parallel fashion,
were placed along the space’s center axis and scattered between the wooden
beams making up the ceiling’s structure.
Table-mounted
light fixtures were used for the seating booths to add depth to these sections.
These fixtures are comprised of a supporting plate from which extend three black
steel fixtures finished with exposed light bulbs. .PSLAB was able to create
alignment between the booths on opposite ends of each other by placing the
light fixtures within the same axis.
Above
the bar section, ceiling mounted metal rods in 3 groupings of 6 were fixed
along the ceiling and as they reach the bar counter, they drop down to provide
lighting to the bar’s seating section. Opposite from the bar, at the other end
of the restaurant, the same fixtures in three clusters adorn the ceiling of the
private section, creating a mirroring effect. The
products used, made from steel and with a blackened copper plated steel finish,
were designed and manufactured by .PSLAB in their own factory.
The
end-result achieved in Workshop kitchen + bar is a direct outcome of the open
dialogue between .PSLAB, SOMA Architects and owners Chef Michael Beckman and
Joe Mourani. The inspiration behind the lighting intervention came from the
modernist concept of the space. .PSLAB relied on the height of the ceiling, the
variety of seating sections making up the space and the concrete element and
colors throughout the restaurant to guide their creativity in identifying the
ideal solution. The result is a sleek and modern lighting solution that in
itself while minimalist, surrounds the space and highlights functionality.
The
resulting lighting concept is very indicative of the .PSLAB approach in which
the lighting solution is perfectly incorporated into the overall interior.
This intervention is a
perfect example of the .PSLAB approach where the elements within the space were
the driving factors in the creative process to come up with a customized
concept that is a perfect fit for the project.