The contemporray Uchi Houston restaurant, Texas
Austin-based architectural practice Michael Hsu Office of Architecture have completed the Uchi Houston project. Completed in 2012, the award-winning restaurant can be found in Houston, Texas, US. Uchi Houston is the third in a line of restaurants by James Beard award-winning chef Tyson Cole. This project fuses elements from the first two restaurant designs, yet establishes its own unique presence inside the landmark Felix Mexican restaurant originally built in 1937. The original circular entry rotunda and iconic parabolic windows of the historic structure were reinterpreted for this modern Japanese concept. Window frames were remade in cast concrete with custom bronze screens. Inside the rotunda, an entry foyer is carved out of a volume of reclaimed long leaf pine lumber. As with the previous two designs, an emphasis on handcrafted materials remained in the use of the custom textured plastered walls, the rough sawn walnut cabinetry, the heavy timber spalted pecan booths, and custom brass light fixtures.
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