French studio Ciguë has outfitted a historic Manhattan retailer with green-toned clay, walnut millwork and a charcoal wooden filtration system for the flagship retailer of matcha model 12 Matcha.
12 Matcha is positioned at 54 Bond Avenue, a mixed-use 1870s forged iron constructing that was as soon as a financial savings financial institution after which theatre earlier than it was restored right into a high-end residential condominium by CTA Architects in 2018.
Positioned on the primary two ranges of the constructing, 12 Matcha accommodates a bar and ordering area at its entrance, and extra seating and a diminutive tasting room downstairs.
For the design, Ciguë needed the area “to really feel like matcha”.
“Truthfully, we needed the area to really feel like matcha – velvety, grounding, and a bit bit mysterious,” Cigüe undertaking lead Camille Bénard advised Dezeen.
The studio break up the area into completely different emotions between the 2 flooring – “radiant and busy” upstairs and extra “introspective” downstairs.
On the highest degree, guests enter onto an extended bar clad in a shadowy green-enamelled lava stone. Matcha preparation areas line the counter, whereas three vast glass vessels sit in direction of the again, crammed with water.
In response to the workforce, vast items of Japanese activated charcoal Binchotan wooden encased within the vessels naturally stability the PH and mineral content material of the water, which is used to make the drinks.
“Initially crafted by Ciguë for sustainable workplace or communal environments, the system has been reimagined and scaled to satisfy 12 Matcha’s operational wants, making the filtration course of not solely apparent however integral to the shop’s identification,” stated the studio.
Within the again nook, the workforce created a seating space utilizing a mix of “playful classic items” and wooden furnishings, whereas desks line the vast entrance home windows.
The area has green-toned clay partitions and authentic uncooked Douglas fir floorboards, which the studio stored in place to evoke the constructing’s roots.
A recent walnut wooden staircase leads downstairs, which additionally accommodates a mix of classic and wooden furnishings.
Tucked right into a again nook subsequent to the staircase and enclosed in glass, a tasting room accommodates an identical enamelled lava stone desk and is backed by chrome steel shelving.
A vast, oval delicate fixture hangs from the ceiling and 4 metal bar chairs line the desk.
“It is half lab, half sanctuary,” stated Bénard. “It is open however enclosed, apparent from the lounge, in order that the act of tasting or researching turns into a part of the place’s heartbeat.”
After visits to Japan with the 12 Matcha workforce and the undertaking’s branding studio Base Design, Bénard notes the studio thought so much concerning the delicate high quality they skilled whereas overseas, which knowledgeable their alternative to put in every window with slated shades.
“We thought so much about delicate: the way it filters via shaded tea fields in Japan, and the way that very same softness may make folks really feel comfy in the course of Manhattan,” stated Bénard.
Beforehand, Ciguë designed an e-bike retailer in Paris and created a contraption of glass beakers and metal tubes that emit scents for an Aesop retailer.
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