lighting
PROJECT
Above. Using products from Bartco Lighting, designers created a balance between intimate lighting in the dining room and café areas, while creating a connection with the service kitchen and bakery. Below. Larger openings to the service kitchen and bakery than commonly practiced in restaurants connect diners and servers.
The Brownsville Community Culinary Center uses an appealing lighting scheme to illuminate kitchens and dining areas.
Connecting The Community Lighting a Brooklyn food center brightens more than the cuisine.
W
hen it comes to healthy eating, educators
store—features a restaurant with seated service. Residents
ville neighborhood to address and organize around issues
at the Brownsville Community Culi-
in the neighborhood with SNAP (Supplemental Nutri-
of food injustice. We strive to collaborate with resi-
nary Center (BCCC) know what it takes
tion Assistance Program) cards can receive a 50% dis-
dent-led initiatives. Our greatest successes are the connec-
to teach young, aspiring urban chefs to prepare sensible,
count for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, six days a week.
tions we make on a daily basis.”
yet delicious, food and serve it to residents in its New York
According to a New York Times article on the center, resi-
neighborhood. To do that, the new center in Brooklyn’s
dents say this is the first full-service restaurant in the
FOOD-FOCUSED LIGHTING
Brownsville neighborhood needed an appealing lighting
neighborhood in close to 50 years.
Ali C. Höcek, principal of AC Hocek Architecture
scheme that illuminated kitchens and dining areas for
The crux of the initiative is an educational program
(ACHA), New York, brought a strong, simple, and artic-
the community’s developing gourmets and gourmands
that will put students, most in their 20s and early 30s and
ulate design aesthetic to the project. To further develop
and to showcase the center’s architectural features.
from the community, through 40 weeks of kitchen class-
the spatial articulation of his design, Höcek brought in
The BCCC is a collaboration between co-founder
work and apprentice training, for which they are paid a
lighting designer Hervè Descotte and his firm L’Observa-
and director of content and communications at BCCC,
stipend. BCCC seeks to prepare them for careers in the
toire International, New York. The firms wanted to create
Lucas Denton, and chef Claus Meyer. One of the most
food and restaurant industry as they make the meals to
a balance between intimate lighting in the dining room
celebrated chefs in the world, Meyer founded a philan-
be served at the center, which is run as a nonprofit. The
and café areas, while creating a connection with the ser-
thropy called the Melting Pot that taught prisoners how
center also works with local residents to improve their
vice kitchen and bakery.
to cook. He later opened a restaurant and a number of
knowledge about fresh and healthy food and various mis-
cafeterias in Bolivia to train poor young people for jobs
sion-aligned programs in the community.
in the food world. Meyer wanted to do something similar in New York. Established to educate and inspire participants to ex-
For Höcek, intimacy in the front-of-house areas, for everyone involved, was about building community, pro-
Through its on-site eatery, the center and its students
viding a positive space for residents to be close with one
already have served more than 1,000 healthy meals to the
another, and building relations with friends and family.
community members.
He said, “We have to remember that while Brownsville
cel in food service, the 5,000-sq.-ft. culinary center hosts
Denton explained the center creates a true connection
continues to transform itself for the better, it still experi-
a bakery, cafeteria, and space for organizations to provide
between the students and the surrounding neighbor-
ences urban trauma for a variety of reasons. The Culi-
education relating to public health and fitness.
hood. “We support our program participants as we help
nary Center is certainly part of that healing and amelio-
Opened to the public in early August 2017, the cen-
them cultivate and work toward their dreams,” he said.
rative process.”
ter—housed on the site of a former dollar-merchandise
“At the same time, we serve as a forum for the Browns-
44
COMMERCI A L A RCHI T EC T URE
JANUARY 2018
commercialarchitecturemagazine.com
Höcek added that lighting played a very important
