When Cesar and Sergio Diaz bought the Downbeat Café in Echo Park they knew some things needed to change. They came to us asking for a “20s style café” that fit the character of the brick building housing it. We were happy to oblige, designing a café that feels at once original to the building and as contemporary and experimental as the events at the Machine Project next door. Conceptually we treated the architectural surface as fabric, tailoring the wainscoting the way you would tailor a suit to pull away from the walls in key areas to create bench seating, a bar and a cash wrap. To finish off the walls we created the effect of wallpaper using large scale stenciling, and fabricated curved oak flooring to bend with the counter.
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