Box 9 used "brick on every surface" in Soho restaurant Kid

Local studio Box 9 has used bricks made from recycled construction waste for the interior of London restaurant Kid, where the material clads everything from the grill to the wine room. The 3,300-square-foot (307-square-metre) restaurant in central Soho sits on a corner and is formed of two formerly separate units, which Box 9 combined to make Kid, a modern take on a Turkish mangal grill restaurant. The Soho restaurant has an all-brick interior "The site's two shopfronts offered an opportunity to connect their contrasting elevations through a shared design approach," Box 9 co-founder Lou Davies told Dezeen. "Frith Street retains a beautiful Victorian upper storey with distinctive brick patterns that reflect Soho's merchant-trading history, while Bateman Street has a new elevation and a central section rising to the residences above." It sits on the corner of a brick building To unite the spaces, the studio chose to work with brick, both because of its common use in Victorian buildings like the one the restaurant is in and because of its history in hospitality design. It also worked well with the feel of the restaurant, which focuses on food that is inspired by chef Sertaç Dirik's Turkish heritage. The Bateman Street side of the restaurant has a more contemporary feel "[Brick] has a centuries-old relationship with restaurants, kitchens and cooking with fire, forming the basis of traditional fireplaces and hearths," Davies said. "It also reflected the heritage of Turkish cooking and Sertaç's family background, while connecting to the history of the Soho building and its original brick patterns." A brick grill welcomes visitors Box 9 aimed to create subtly different interiors in the two former units of the corner restaurant, with the Frith Street side of the restaurant keeping a more traditional Victorian design and the Bateman Street side having a more contemporary feel. Here, guests enter behind a discreet door to be met by the central grill, which was built – like the rest of the space – from materials company Kenoteq's K-Briq, a brick made from at least 90 per cent recycled construction and demolition waste. According to Box 9, it requires no fossil fuel or firing to produce and therefore releases just a tenth of the carbon emissions of traditional bricks. The studio also wanted to work with brick to create a coherent design in the space. "We loved the idea of using brick on every surface," Davies said. "There was a raw humbleness to it: wine cellars, kitchens and grills would traditionally have been built with brick. It wasn't about fancy materials; it was about using the best material for the purpose." The wine room can seat 14 guests Upstairs, Box 9 laid the brick in a traditional bond with a traditional joint on the Frith Street side, using a soldier bond and a raked joint for the more contemporary Bateman Street side. This part of the restaurant also includes a wine room that seats 14 guests in an intimate space, also fully built from brick. Downstairs, Box 9 designed an open bakery that will also function as an events room with bespoke feature tables by Jan Hendzel Studio, which can be moved to create different functions in the space. The Soho location was previously two different units The studio also aimed to create a unique space that would suit the style of the chef, whose background is in his family's Mangal II restaurant. "For Kid we needed to create a completely unique restaurant that represented Sertaç," Davies said. "His personality is big, and his background is rooted in generations of cooking in Turkey and his family's cooking style, as well as how they cooked at Mangal II. All his training was in cooking with fire." London has seen a spate of recent restaurant openings, including French restaurant Cassette in a Grade II-listed workshop and a London pizzeria designed by Isern Serra. Subscribe to our newsletters Your email address New! Dezeen Agenda US Sent on alternate Fridays, this US edition of Dezeen Agenda is a fortnightly newsletter rounding up everything you need to know from America, featuring news, projects and interviews with industry figures. Plus occasional updates and invitations to Dezeen events. New! Dezeen Showroom New Releases A quarterly newsletter rounding up a selection of recently launched products by designers and studios, published on Dezeen Showroom. 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