24 Oct 2024
Atelier Zébulon Perron, a firm renowned for its distinct interior design services for the commercial sector, proudly introduces Hav & Mar, a multicultural culinary destination in the Starrett-Lehigh building in New York City’s renowned arts district of Chelsea. Hav & Mar marks the second collaboration between Atelier Zébulon Perron and Marcus Samuelsson, the Ethiopian-born, Swedish-raised world-renowned chef who has honed his skills in New York City’s eclectic culinary scene.
With a diverse African, Scandinavian, and American background, Samuelsson envisioned a restaurant that would strike a beautiful balance between his cultural influences. ‘Hav’ means ‘Sea’ in Swedish, and ‘Mar’ means ‘Honey’ in Ethiopia’s Amharic language, Hav & Mar has delivered on its promise of a globally-inspired menu of festive and flavorful creations since opening its doors in late 2022.
“Diversity and a meeting of cultures is a theme that permeates Hav & Mar,” says Zébulon Perron, founder and lead designer of the firm that bears his name. “That theme extends to the mermaid motif created by artist Derek Adams as the restaurant’s logo, and to the prominence of women of colour at the helm.”
Renewing acquaintances
Having previously collaborated with Atelier Zébulon Perron on the design of the high-end Marcus Restaurant at the Four Seasons Hotel in Montreal, Samuelsson called upon the firm once again to help design his latest culinary vision. Each new Samuelsson project is driven by a new concept, and Hav & Mar is a continuation of that trend. The restaurant is a culmination of Samuelsson’s life’s work, and the design challenge presented to Atelier Zébulon Perron focused on the creation of an ambiance that promotes social interactions that transcend the typical restaurant experience.
Atelier Zébulon Perron has gained notoriety for its creative approach to designing spectacular spaces within unusual floorplans, and the previous experience of Marcus Restaurant instilled the collaborative relationship with a mutual appreciation for that ability. Hav & Mar once again called upon the firm’s creative thinking to address Samuelsson’s newest vision.
“From the beginning, the approach was centred on the concept of socializing and bringing people together,” explains Perron. “We wanted to articulate the space in ways that would promote and facilitate that, and the planning and design process focused on a strategic layout to ensure smooth and fluid circulation paths conducive to Marcus’s vision.”
The warm embrace of comfortable design
In approaching what was previously an industrial space, Atelier Zébulon Perron began its intervention with an injection of warmth, choosing plywood as a material base for Hav & Mar’s unique character. With a multitude of possibilities, plywood became an important material throughout the design, applied to walls and boundaries, and used to build assemblies for harnessing lighting fixtures. Plywood was also used for the unique framework of Hav & Mar’s private booth enclosure.
Materials for the design included ‘elevated’ choices, but the project embraced a high-end ceiling to ensure a balanced and inclusive product where people from all walks of life would come and feel comfortable. Hav & Mar’s interior includes customized furnishings designed by Atelier Zébulon Perron, as well as some down-to-earth vintage elements, and decorative lighting designed in collaboration with Lambert & Fils.
Every piece contributes to the narrative of an international, multicultural life that is referenced in Hav & Mar’s earthy tones of browns and honey, contrasting with light marbles, including a teal bar top. Plush velvets, rich walnut, and other hardwoods juxtapose with raw stucco and concrete, paying tribute to the building’s industrial roots.
Functional flow
Hav & Mar’s open kitchen concept further contributes to the concept of flow and interaction, with the main bar prominently positioned directly in front of it. To further maximize floorplan efficiency, Atelier Zébulon Perron created a private booth as an articulated sub-space just off of the bar and kitchen area, essentially converting what might otherwise be the worst seat in the house into one of the most coveted seating options.
Hav & Mar’s main bar has a special presence, denoted by a large, sea-creature-esque lighting fixture positioned directly above it. Incongruous and curious, the fixture also serves a functional purpose by acting as a canopy that grounds the area to a human scale. The overall design plays with verticality, with a variety of strategically placed elements emerging from the ceiling, floor, and walls. Each of those elements is creatively illuminated by custom-designed lighting fixtures that serve as both sculptural elements and backlights of an eclectic mix of glowing spaces.
“You can create the most beautiful spaces imaginably, but creative lighting is essential to infusing ambience into those spaces,” concludes Zébulon Perron. “With so many unique spaces and design elements to absorb at Hav & Mar, original lighting is one of the areas where we were able to express ourselves.”
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