{"id":30724,"date":"2025-07-29T19:49:12","date_gmt":"2025-07-29T19:49:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/30724\/"},"modified":"2025-07-29T19:49:12","modified_gmt":"2025-07-29T19:49:12","slug":"selgascano-and-curtis-su-wrap-arabica-new-york-cafe-in-timber","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/30724\/","title":{"rendered":"selgascano and curtis su wrap % arabica new york caf\u00e9 in timber"},"content":{"rendered":"

Selgascano and Curtis Su Wrap small Caf\u00e9 in Curved Timber<\/p>\n

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Just opposite the Museum of Modern Art<\/a> in Midtown Manhattan<\/a>, New York<\/a>, Selgascano<\/a> and Curtis Su Associates carve an immersive caf\u00e9<\/a>\u00a0for % Arabica<\/a> behind a narrow, subterranean storefront. The architects transform the 20-meter-long, 3.7-meter-wide space, sitting one meter below street level, into an enveloping wooden<\/a> interior, where the architecture folds around the body like a second skin. With a ceiling height of just 2.55 meters, the team embraces the compact proportions, amplifying them through a continuous handcrafted surface that wraps across walls and ceiling like a warm cocoon.<\/p>\n

\"selgascano
images courtesy of Selgascano and Curtis Su Associates<\/p>\n

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horizontal counter divides % Arabica new york midtown interior<\/p>\n

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A 10-meter-long counter that organizes the narrow interior of the % Arabica New York Midtown location, running almost the entire length of the space. This single horizontal element serves to divide the wooden shell into two visual zones. In the area above, Spanish architectural office<\/a> Selgascano and South Pasadena-based<\/a> Curtis Su Associates paint the timber white to reflect light and brighten the low ceiling. Below, they retain its natural tone, bringing texture and warmth closer to the body.<\/p>\n

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The extra layer of wood traces the uneven geometry of the existing structure, smoothing its dips, angles, and quirks.\u00a0 The curving surfaces were scanned, milled, and coaxed into shape. Curtis Su Associates used 3D scanning to map the existing shell and CNC-cut timber panels into continuous curves. These were combined with GRG (glass-fiber reinforced gypsum) to maintain fluid transitions across corners and ceilings. A large mirror by the entrance helps stretch the perspective and gives passersby a brief, disorienting view into the space.<\/p>\n

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From the street, very little reveals what\u2019s going on inside. The facade is left mostly untouched, with cracks, patches, and traces of past use still visible. There\u2019s no big sign or formal entrance, just the % Arabica logo, gently placed, marking the entry into an intimate space.<\/p>\n

\"selgascano
from the street, very little reveals what\u2019s going on inside<\/p>\n

\"selgascano
Curtis Su Associates used 3D scanning to map the existing shell and CNC-cut timber panels into continuous curves<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Selgascano and Curtis Su Wrap small Caf\u00e9 in Curved Timber \u00a0 Just opposite the Museum of Modern Art…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":30725,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[28933,28934,449,458,459,64,63,460,134,2700,28935,6325],"class_list":["post-30724","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arabica","tag-architecture-in-new-york","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-restaurant-and-cafe-design","tag-selgascano","tag-wood-and-timber-architecture-and-design"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30724","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30724"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30724\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30725"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30724"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30724"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30724"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}