01 | Hand-crafted bites
in a craftsman bungalow
Design inspiration can come from a lot of places and can be anything: word associations, an image board, a feeling or vibe, or another place.
Design inspiration can also come from constraints. Whether they are existing code conditions, a small footprint for a space, or a thin budget there are always additional considerations which temper and inform a design.
Often, the most compelling design stories build from inspiration in a way that is not only successful but also, first and foremost, address constraints and client needs.
Old-school cool
Muchacho is a restaurant currently in development which takes inspiration from several eclectic sources: retro graphic color bands, the boulevards of Santa Monica, and the timeless aesthetic cool of the surf culture of southern California’s beaches.
Our design language for this project: an authentic, eclectic-cool.
A historic connection
The site context is an existing 1940s craftsman bungalow in the historic town of Decatur, Georgia. The building’s sweeping front veranda is the perfect location for grabbing a hand-crafted taco (or three) and a cold cerveza. An existing magnolia tree shades the entire front lawn, and creates an incredible backdrop for lawn games and dining al fresco.
One of our project constraints is to maintain a homage to the existing character of the interior and exterior of the building while still crafting a design aesthetic which aligns with the existing branded identity of the space.
Developing the design through materiality
Part of our design studies for this project include taking special care to craft how we approach our design solution to ensure we are addressing our design constraints and client needs first and foremost while at the same time keeping the thread of the design language we want to present. A key hallmark of good design is whether the look and feel of a designed space is successful, but also the function and necessary requirements are wholistically addressed.
In this project, we are navigating the historic nature of the building by embedding both clay brick and clay breezeblock. The brick is an homage to the existing pier foundation along the bottom skirt of the building while also linking into a more modern So-Cal look and feel. There is an added bonus: the terracotta color of the brick is a color that works nicely with the retro color band of the brand identity.
