Commercial Architecture January 2018 - 44

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.

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-

COMMERCI A L A RCHI T EC T URE

JANUARY 2018

commercialarchitecturemagazine.com

Höcek added that lighting played a very important

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Commercial Architecture January 2018