GrizForm Design Architects has recently completed Medi, a new Arlington, Virginia restaurant.
The casual, 40-seat restaurant takes cues from the clients' Greek background for the design. GrizForm's design intent was to capture the old world charm of the Mediterranean in a fresh and modern way by balancing rustic and contemporary design.
Through the usage of white stucco, marble, and an eye-catching blue entry door, guests get to feel like they are in a Greek coastal town while enjoying gyros, pitas, and other Mediterranean fare at this Arlington neighborhood restaurant.
The modern and fresh 40-seat quickservice restaurant further captures the old world charm of this area through black and white photography and vintage pulleys referencing the Mediterranean coast. With a small floorplan, Griz Dwight AIA, principal of GrizForm Design Architects, incorporated a color palette of whites and blues to help open up the space. Oak wood walls and ceiling beams also add a bit of warmth to the aged building while an unfinished concrete floor helps balance the rus1c yet contemporary look.
The entry design was extremely important to both GrizForm Design Architects and the firm's clients. The space is housed in an aged building where most of the retail tenants have aged, along with dated awnings above entryways. In order to bring the interior design to the entry, GrizForm resurfaced the façade with white stucco and marble, and created a blue door entry that is icon of Greek coastal towns and also part of the Medi logo.
The lighting hints at the nautical aspects of the Mediterranean. Fixtures were inspired by the elements and shapes you find at the fishing docks. Their placement also helped to visually break up the long, narrow space.