bice restaurants

istanbul TR
This project is a global re-interpretation of traditional “Bice Restaurant” concept in a new modern key, trying also to keep a warm and domestic atmosphere. The re-examination of details and materials construction and colours merging create a perception of a light and polished ambient. Using scale of brown colours, a mix of recessed and direct lights we try to reach a global good feeling, introducing design elements on draw, always looking for lines pureness and careful graphics search.

san diego CA USA
A trip to the restaurant industry abroad for Federico Delrosso, on an all-Italian concept: the second Bice restaurant in San Diego (California). The architect Delrosso had already designed the Bice restaurant inaugurated in Istanbul in 2008 and, as in the previous project, in his latest work he continued a consistent line of modernization of the Italian way of food. Unlike some of its locations (Bice is also in New York, Tokyo, Miami, Chicago, Houston, Montreal, Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Palm Beach, Madrid, Dubai…), Delrosso designed spaces devoid of immediate references to the traditional iconography of Italian cuisine. Instead the volumes and furnishings were designed to offer an immersion in the most contemporary Italian mood, in emotionally relaxing atmospheres. Besides the actual Dining Room, Delrosso also created the relaxation area, for conversation, reading, and a pleasant, specially lit cocktail-bar. In this way Bice San Diego has an ambiance where the public, the food, the flavours and the feeling of serene conviviality … and not the excess of marks and images, are the true protagonists. The attractive wengé panelling, the imposing wall and see-through cellar, the “bookcase of vases” and the sliding doors with black-and-white images of the past form the distinctive features and at the same time the silent backdrop on a very special stage, where the cuisine of real Italian style is performed every day.
total area: 400 sqm

new york city USA
Restyling of the Bice restaurant in New York, first opened on 54th Street in 1987. The project was by the then emergent Adam Tihany, later well-known for his designs of numerous restaurants and hotels. “From the strictly design point of view, I tackled the restyling project in a way I would almost describe as ‘ethical’.” Rather than destroying the original layout, I chose to respect Adam Tihany’s design and bring out the distinctive features of his project by highlighting them. I removed the elements that I saw as accretions on the original project, stratified over time: lamps, pictures, floors … seeking to recreate the original elegant atmosphere with a palette of shades that would be darker but also more luminous. F.D. I added as the only new feature a collection of black and white photos running along the walls in the interiors. In this way, I sought to evoke that special atmosphere of Italy in the ’60s, which perhaps the patrons of an Italian restaurant will be looking for, naturally in addition to the flavors of our tradition. The black and white photos are also the common thread that Ideally links this project to the other Bice restaurants that I designed in Istanbul and San Diego. F.D.

photo credits: Luca Desantis