Barbacco Restaurant

Barbacco, in San Francisco's Financial District, is the "sexy little sister" of Perbacco, the acclaimed 2006 Italian restaurant on California Street.

Owners Umberto Gibin and chef Staffan Terje saw the need for a more casual option to serve the neighborhood, and when a space next door became available, they engaged CCS Architecture to develop a trattoria that would convert to an enoteca or wine bar at night. The result is Barbacco Eno Trattoria.

Barbacco, with 66 seats, occupies a long, narrow room within the 1912 Hind Building. Inspired by traditional wine bars in Milan and Rome, the space is sleek, urbane and welcoming. A dramatic shaped ceiling, evoking the lines of a sports car, links the higher ceiling at the front of the restaurant with the lower ceiling toward the rear. Forms, detailing, colors and art celebrate Italian culture, cinema, and design. Blurred images of Vespa scooters, wine barrels, sexy Italian screen stars, and motorcycles create a sense of sport and speed.

The wine bar and eating counter extend the length of the space and sumptuously curve. An extended row of counter-height tables provides flexibility, accommodating the change from daytime to evening. Community tables cultivate a bustling atmosphere toward the front of the space. "Ferrari Yellow" elements--a beverage case on one wall, with framed mirror and blurred images opposite--horizontally line the room. A frameless glass storefront provides views of the warm interior and opens the restaurant to the urban landscape beyond. San Francisco’s famous cable cars rattle by adding an extra sense of romance.

Vibrant yellow combines with more subdued colors to complement the wall of exposed brick. Negro Marquina stone and stainless steel create an urbane, almost industrial feel that is moderated by the warm, textural, dark wood bar face. Walnut and chrome details on the tables and chairs recall the dashboard of a luxury car. Bias-patterned gray and yellow floor tiles reinforce the feeling of movement.

Barbacco is filled with the flavors of Northern Italy, emanating from the food, but also from the restaurant’s colors, materials and urban attitude. Incorporating some of Perbacco's DNA, CCS Architecture has created a chic and approachable new gathering spot that is already a destination in its own right.

by CCS Architecture

Twenty Five Lusk.

On Lusk Alley in San Francisco's South of Market district, a 1917 smokehouse and meat-processing facility has been renovated to become Twenty Five Lusk. The 265-seat new American restaurant and bar is an unexpected gem in the urban fabric. CCS Architecture crafted the two-level space, weaving graceful forms and sophisticated materials through the massive, historic, warehouse structure. The interior emphasizes a counterpoint between the new palette of polished stainless steel, glass, white plaster, leather, mirror, faux fur, and slate and the existing elements of brick, concrete and rough-sawn timber.

The architects created a large, glass entrance, cutting into the existing building exterior; the canopy bends up at its leading edge to become the restaurant's signage. Windows were enlarged and added along the façade to animate the interior with natural light and allow views. Inside, a large wedge from the upper floor makes an open connection between the lower level lounge and the dining room upstairs. Entering the restaurant, guests take in simultaneous views of both.

The dining room is on the second floor, up a half-flight of stairs from the entry. The kitchen is a highlight on this level; a modern envelope of clear and black glass permits views of the chef action and reflects the activity of the dining room. A strategic mix of tables, banquettes, and booths provides seating for 120. Pullman-style booths are built into the angled, low plaster wall that borders the cut-away, and cantilevered tables, made from richly patterned Macassar ebony, pierce the wall. Lighting reveals the original Douglas fir ceiling and creates a warm glow.

In the lower level lounge, seating zones extend the length of the space, each with a suspended, stainless steel fire orb. The orbs act as a focal point for each seating area, much like camp fires, and their reflective flues extend up through the restaurant's open spaces to the ceiling 20 feet above. Behind the large bar, the former Ogden Packing and Provision smoking rooms have been converted into intimate lounge areas. These semi-private, brick and concrete chambers are appointed with sumptuous sofas. The lower level features a 40-seat private dining room as well as a glass-enclosed wine room within the former freight elevator shaft.

The architecture sets up a notable contrast between the dramatic vertical space and the single-height areas, allowing guests to experience the restaurant in its totality while providing intimate spaces to explore. CCS transformed the entire 15,000 square foot warehouse to accommodate new uses. Twenty Five Lusk occupies the first and second floors, and the third level has been designed as a 5200 square feet of creative office space.

by CCS Architecture