Brix Restaurant

By Russell Thomsen / October 2, 2016 / ARCHITECTURE / No Comments

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Brix Restaurant
Los Angeles, California
1992

The site of the Brix restaurant in Venice, California can be characterized as a cacophony of visual and sonic interference. The primary design response was to insert a ‘pause’ into this hyperactive strip landscape of noise in order to achieve a clear architectural presence for the client.

Exploiting an interest in the ubiquitous Los Angeles billboard, we chose to use it to new advantage. Acting as a perforated filter to the street, the reconceived billboard became highly effective in providing a scaffold for a large, semi-transparent surface. The striking effect enabled an ephemeral visual and spatial layering during the day and a dynamic pixilated light box during evening hours. In response to an ongoing interest of ours, the project challenges and blurs the conventional boundaries between what is urban space and what is considered interior architectural space.

Project credits:
Eric Kahn and Russell Thomsen with Ron Golan.
Photography by Tom Bonner.


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About Russell Thomsen

A founding partner in the award winning Central Office of Architecture (COA, 1987-2008) and IDEA Office (2009-2014), Russell Thomsen formed RNThomsen Architecture in 2015. He has been a licensed architect since 1989. The office provides a full range of architectural services. In addition to directing the practice, Russell is also a senior design studio faculty member at the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) in downtown Los Angeles. The work of the office has been internationally recognized, exhibited and published. The office has received several awards including the Architectural League Prize and Emerging Voices, both from the Architectural League of New York, and the Best In American Architecture Award for the Saitama Residence.