Whether crafting pared-back furnishings or staging a sleek interior, Los Angeles-based designer Jialun Xiong (featured in the Wallpaper* USA 300, our guide to creative America) looks to distil and coalesce different reference points. Born in Chongqing, China, the up-and-comer infuses her high-concept designs with the duality of restraint and graphical boldness. She achieves this by remaining resolute in what needs to be accomplished. Perhaps, nowhere is that better demonstrated than in her recent outfitting of the third Sichuan Impression restaurant, in Alhambra, Los Angeles.
Jialun Xiong dresses new Sichuan Impression in Alhambra, Los Angeles
Situated in the hip Los Angeles neighbourhood of Alhambra, the sprawling 2,000 sq ft (185 sq m) bistro, serves up a regional fare in a minimalist and textured setting that folds in evocations of traditional Chinese architecture. Throughout the strategically partitioned space, rustic materials are harnessed in refined geometries and clean lines. An earth-tone colour palette sets the stage for an almost collage-like composition of architectural elements – layering in different textures and intensities of detail. As with many of her projects, there's a certain harmony in juxtaposing and melding opposing forces.
'I approach all of my designs with intentionality, but it’s especially top-of-mind when I'm creating environments that people are going to spend a long time in,' says Xiong. 'For Sichuan Impression, I chose a muted palette and natural materials to encourage guests to look a little longer and uncover the intricacies that aren't so obvious at first glance. I believe good design doesn’t always have to be instantly recognisable, it can simply blend in.'
Throughout the stratified interior, half walls and semi-permeable surfaces help establish a hierarchy of space. Four family-style seatings are delineated by almost mono-material articulations of walnut, plaster, and antique brass. Circular cut-aways in thick plaster, and metal mesh partition walls make for an enfilade effect that appears to be a triple reflection. Xiong's goal was to offer visual engagement without overstimulating the senses. Raw silk cloth chandeliers hang over each zone and translate directly from the iconic form and structure of traditional Chinese lanterns.
Suggestive of bamboo – a popular material in Sichuan, green-upholstered banquettes anchor into additional rectilinear booths. Implemented for its reddish tone, walnut is hewn into custom tables with live edges, indicating a sense of timelessness. Customers can choose between more intimate and open-plan dining experiences.
While a floating metal cabinet delimiting the bar adds more cubic complexity to the main restaurant, a private dining room toward the rear takes on even more regional specificity. Circular openings are generously framed in dark woods and joined by off-white walls and floors. This room has a more domestic feel. Overall, Xiong's scheme is a testament to the fact that minimalism doesn't always have to be stark and cold, or disconnected from reference.
-
Designer Marta de la Rica’s elegant Madrid studio is full of perfectly-pitched contradictionsThe studio, or ‘the laboratory’ as de la Rica and her team call it, plays with colour, texture and scale in eminently rewarding ways
-
‘Nothing just because it’s beautiful’: Performance artist Marina Abramović on turning her hand to furniture designMarina Abramović has no qualms about describing her segue into design as a ‘domestication’. But, argues the ‘grandmother of performance art’ as she unveils a collection of chairs, something doesn’t have to be provocative to be meaningful
-
A local’s guide to Los Angeles by defiant artist Fawn RogersOregon-born, LA-based artist Fawn Rogers gives us a personal tour of her adopted city as it hosts its sixth edition of Frieze
-
A local’s guide to Los Angeles by defiant artist Fawn Rogers
Oregon-born, LA-based artist Fawn Rogers gives us a personal tour of her adopted city as it hosts its sixth edition of Frieze
-
Enter Marea Beverly Hills, an Italian restaurant with Californian gustoConceptualised by Nusla Design and led by chef PJ Calapa, Marea Beverly Hills brings in a sophisticated dining party ambience to flourishing Camden Drive
-
Enchanting culinary entertainment awaits at this fine dining restaurant in Santa MonicaChef Dave Beran returns to his fine dining origins with Seline on Main Street, not far from his French-themed Pasjoli
-
New York restaurant Manuela masters the art of contemporary diningThe latest restaurant from Hauser & Wirth’s hospitality arm, Manuela offers a masterclass in nourishing connections
-
Milanese modernism meets Eastside cool at this LA pizza parlourWildcrust dishes up Neapolitan flavours courtesy of chef Miles Okabayashi, and seductive interiors by Jared Frank Studio
-
Santa Monica hotspot The Georgian Room is a rare, well-done steakhouse speakeasyHidden inside The Georgian Hotel in Santa Monica, a restored speakeasy that lovingly nods to its storied past
-
How an LA pastry chef and his Boston restaurateur mother accidentally created a family businessThe collaboration between foodie duo Kathy and Ben Sidell sprinkles sugar dust over a West Hollywood haunt
-
New York restaurant Locanda Verde’s second outpost will transport you to a different time and placeLocanda Verde’s expansive new Hudson Yards osteria exudes a sophisticated yet intimate atmosphere overflowing with art treasures
