Auburn

In collaboration with Chef Eric Bost, Auburn stands as an homage to both craftsmanship and natural materials. As if stepping into a friends home, the space is conceived as a warm, domestic shell with the fine tuned operations of an internationally driven kitchen at its hearth. Working closely with a small team of craftsmen locally, we could design and fabricate a custom range of furniture and hardware tailored specifically for Chef Bost’s dining concept.

A delicate balance between old and new defines the entry sequence into the space. Entering the restaurant along an original clerestory signifies the division between what was original and what was added over the years. The guest simultaneously senses a careful, sculpted division between floor, walls, and ceiling. Pulled apart from each other, a haptic band of materiality for the guest to indulge is formed between the floor and the ceiling. The space slowly unravels to reveal a collage of dining areas seamlessly transitioning between inside and out.

The main dining space opens up to the sky through five large incisions in the wooden ceiling structure of the patio. With generous planters below each cut, the dinners feel as if they are seated within a wild, rural landscape set in the city. Through a large wall of solid oak windows the main dining space continues inside directly adjacent to the open kitchen. This room maintains the most intimate relationship to the chef.

The final, most exclusive dining space is a room set for 10 guests. Two large, oak sliding doors allow the dinners to connect to the outdoors and the cool evening breezes of the city of angels.

Design: Klein Agency
Architecture: ORA
Photography: Nicole Franzen