Mix
New York City
Patrick Jouin

An extraordinary recipe of attention to detail and design

© Eric Lai

For more photos click on 'photos & drawings' above. To see the people and products behind this project click on 'people & products.'

On a recessed, small-screen monitor in the front door of Mix, a 24-hour film of the workings of a Ducasse kitchen plays. Perhaps the video is a metaphor for the design of the restaurant; it reflects modernity and craft.

The restaurant design is defined by its dedicated attention to detail and materials. For example, the dining tables, designed by Patrick Jouin and fabricated by a local craftsman, are made of zebrawood. Antique wood from old, French train cars used to transport cows and other goods serves as flooring. The bathroom features chrome toilet handles designed by Le Corbusier and produced by one of his ancestors who singularly owns the mold. The restaurant presents several objects designed by Jouin (some of which were fabricated by his father) such as pendant lights, a bread/butter tray and Nutella spoon, and an "X" tray table.

The restaurant plays with new and old materials. Dark, hand-stitched leather embroidery lining the walls and ceiling of the entrances is juxtaposed with the glass-topped bar, lit from underneath by colored lights. Slowly changing throughout the evening, the combinations of red, blue, and green lights provide up to 14 million possible colors. Across from the bar is a grouping of "drink sticks," small Corian stands of varying heights. The closed-in seating element, made of fiberglass and steel, is upholstered in a warm gray fabric on the inside and painted with an iridescent paint on the outside.

Location:
New York City

Architect:
Patrick Jouin
8 passage de la bonne graine,
paris 75011
patrick-jouin@noos.fr