James Beard Restaurant Design Award Finalists Announced

The 2010 James Beard Foundation Awards Nominees have been announced. The three finalists in the Outstanding Restaurant Design category are:

Design Firm: Evan Douglis Studio
Designer: Evan Douglis
Project: Choice Market, Brooklyn, NY

Design Firm: Project M
Designer: John Bielenberg
Project: PieLab, Greensboro, AL

Design Firm: Andre Kikoski Architect
Designer: Andre Kikoski
Project: The Wright, NYC (See project images and description below)

Winners will be announced May 3, 2010 in NYC.

Kikoski’s design of The Wright references the Guggenheim Museum’s Frank Lloyd Wright architecture without repeating it, and in the process transforms familiar geometries, spatial effects and material qualities. The play of forms and the dynamics of movement through this 1,600 square foot space imbue the design with novelty, subtlety and intrigue. 

The project is representative of Andre Kikoski Architect’s style - inventive, dramatic and highly tactile. Sculptural forms for the flared ceiling, undulating banquette, and torqued bar and communal table are based on Wright’s underlying geometries but crafted in contemporary materials.

The design brings to life a play between these sculptural elements and the architecturally-layered, illuminated materials that invite participation and a sense of delight for all patrons. Design features include: a curvilinear wall of walnut layered with illuminated fiber-optics; a bar clad in a shimmering skin of innovative custom metalwork and topped in seamless white Corian; a sweeping banquette with vivid blue leather seating backed by illuminated planes of woven grey texture; and a layered ceiling canopy of taut white fabric.

About the James Beard Foundation Awards
Established in 1990, the James Beard Foundation Awards recognize culinary professionals for excellence and achievement in their fields and continue to emphasize the Foundation’s mission: to celebrate, preserve, and nurture America’s culinary heritage and diversity.  The annual James Beard Foundation Awards honor the best and the brightest talents in the food and beverage industries, celebrating outstanding achievement in each of the following categories: Restaurant and Chef, Restaurant Design and Graphics, Books, Broadcast Media, Journalism, and special achievement awards.  Each category has an individual Awards Committee made up of industry professionals who volunteer their time to oversee the policies, procedures, and selection of judges for their respective Awards program. The James Beard Foundation Awards Ceremony and Gala Reception will take place Monday, May 3, 2010 at Avery Fischer Hall.  For a complete list of final nominees and for more information please visit, www.JBFAwards.com