“We design thoughtfully and we craft very carefully – that while we care about the final aesthetics of a project, we believe it is a by-product of a strong narrative. The two actually work in a tangential manner where we believe one cannot exist without the other. Something that is only aesthetically pleasing without a strong narrative and backing, I would argue, does not exist.

We have never designed anything (including the custom Table-Y dining table pictured above) wanting it to be Instagrammable but I think if you’re designing well and thoughtfully, it’s just a natural by-product. If you put out a well-designed space then it would naturally be Instagrammable.”

“We heavily consider the experience of every stakeholder involved when designing a dining space – this includes the patrons, the service staff, etc. Their experience is actually probably the first element that we consider when trying to come up with the spatial arrangement of a space.

For example, with Goho (pictured), they wanted to create a space for a very unconventional type of kaiseki but we still brought the traditional concept of ‘shitsurai’ (a Japanese concept of hospitality) into the design and built around that.”

“I think people are starting to see how important it is so I would imagine F&B establishments now investing more into the design of the space which should therefore increase the attention to the little details of a space (pictured is the trippy walkway in the 66-seat Mezcla Owiu designed).

We love restaurants like Esora and the new Burnt Ends. In San Francisco, there is a restaurant called Birdsong and we love the design of French Laundry in Napa. I love Noma in Copenhagen because it really captures the essence of their brand. It is both functional and beautiful. It draws in nature from the outside, making that a huge contributing factor to their overall design.”

“With any commercial property, [a unique challenge] has to be speed and efficiency, which we both love and hate. Love, because no time is wasted but hate because we have to amp up our design and construction process. But it just means we have to be even more detailed with our communication of certain design elements.

Right now people want efficiency and speed and are willing to overlook the little design details as long as you keep cost low. I think the younger architects and designers are trying to solve the problem that I mentioned above by standing united and firm in not wanting to put out bad work for the sake of efficiency. If you’re using so much resources to getting a space built, it’s important to do it right.”