The Cafe R & D (Newport Beach, California, USA) is a 4,000 sq. ft. prototype restaurant for Houston's, Inc. The cafe is situated in Fashion Island. In addressing the issue of how to design a restaurant space within an another space, the solution blurs the boundaries between exterior and interior, transparent and solid. The curved glass and wood roll-up doors in the arcade that stretch along the facade of the restaurant redefine the transition between the outdoors and the structure envelope. With the erosion and mixing of materials, varying opacities and levels of transparencies, and a rhythm of voids and solids, the architecture design creates rich complexities as these layers overlap within the cafe, ultimately enhancing the overall dining experience. The Cafe R & D is a winner of AIA 2005 Restaurant Design Awards program.
Design: Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects
Photography: Art Cray
