Oakland Restaurant-Design Firm Arcsine Expands

Oakland Restaurant-Design Firm Arcsine Expands

IMAGE COURTESY OF ARCSINE

Its past projects include Duende and Agave Uptown; now it welcomes a new partner and intermediate interior designer.

Arcsine, the Oakland-based architecture and design firm that specializes in restaurants and hotels — and whose past projects include Emeryville’s The Periodic Table as well as Oakland favorites Duende, Calavera, Bardo Lounge & Supper Club, and Agave Uptown — has just appointed its first partner as well as a new intermediate interior designer.

New partner Jason Jones feels especially inspired by technical challenges, and has spent more than a decade developing highly technical design work for electronics fabrication facilities and creative corporate offices. Long before joining Arcsine, he worked with its co-founders Adam Winig and Daniel Scovill at another firm. Among his signature techniques is the combining of interesting materials, exciting patterns, and bold colors to honor spaces present usages along with their architectural pasts.

Also joining the team as intermediate interior designer is Michaela Molleur, whose self-described “introverted extroversion” informs her interaction with clients and working with them through the collaborative architecture and design journey. Her past projects include the complete renovation of 1,300 guestrooms at the Flamingo Last Vegas resort.

Her current projects include Hiroshi Ramen at Bishop Ranch in San Ramon as well as LB Steak in San Ramon, along with the Sheraton Palo Alto ballroom renovation and two restaurants at Mineta San Jose Airport.

Jones’ current projects include several restaurants at Oakland Airport as well as the overhaul of a Holiday Inn at San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf.

Regarding Agave Uptown, which is depicted above, Arcsine’s website calls the restaurant “a 4,000-square-foot oasis filled with thoughtful design references that bring the history and diverse energy of Oaxaca, Mexico to Oakland. …

“The bar boasts a faceted display of folded steel planes woven and welded into a dazzling centerpiece. The intricate custom metalwork was inspired by the geometric folds of agave leaves. …

“Under a hickory wood canopy, generous banquette seating is clad in custom fabric inspired by Zapotec rug patterns. From the leather wrapped coas to the black clay and copper agave leaves on display, the private dining room pays tribute to the hard work and handcrafted heritage of Oaxacan farmers.”

Of Arcsine’s work on Bardo, the website asserts: “The atmosphere is meticulously crafted to go beyond a vintage furniture shop and even the inevitable Mad Men references. Seating layouts were very thoughtfully planned to create the sense of several neighboring cocktail parties going on simultaneously.

‘The bar area ups the swank factor with upholstered panels at the die wall, reverse-diamond-matched veneer bar top, and backbar millwork that features wood-framed speaker cloth and gold-veined antique mirror. A variety of vintage barware, stacks of records, and a rack of fold-out TV trays add layers of detail and delight.”

Other East Bay Arcsine projects include Oakland’s Modern Coffee II and Modern III, Telefèric Walnut Creek, and Richmond’s Hotel Mac.

Faces of the East Bay