.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.
