A Concrete Concept: Usine by Richard Lindvall
/Dine, wine, and file into an assembly line at Stockholm’s Usine, where interior designer Richard Lindvall has stripped down a former factory into a streamlined aesthetic.
Award-winning designer Richard Lindvall is back with his crisp, industrial minimalist style to create the new Usine restaurant space. French for “factory,” Usine stays true to its roots as a former sausage factory with exposed structures and 48 tons of concrete in trendy Södermalm, Stockholm. The 21,528 ft² space consists of Restaurant Bistro 38 and Bar Poche 38, as well as cafe, take-away, reception, and conference spaces.
Guests are welcomed by Johan Annerfelt’s portrait of a smiling Shanghai chef, and Lindvall’s custom-made reception “desk”: an 18-foot long concrete block. To make the dining experience truly unique, the interior designer designed all of the furniture himself, from maple wood custom millwork tables to raised cognac leather sofas. Potted olive plants sprinkled around the space help to bring warmth to the functional aesthetics of white concrete walls, marble tabletops, black cast-iron beams, and galvanized steel sheets.
Despite such a huge space and clean design, Usine is hardly austere. Each area is highly individualized: Bistro 38’s classic bistro chairs and Tolix stools are painted black with care; placemats and other graphics are specially designed by Serhat Ferhat from Studio Dare; and industrial pendant lighting makes for a sleek dining space without the intimidation. Even the fluorescent tubes illuminating the concrete and steel bar are reminiscent of artist Dan Flavin’s sculptural light installations.
Interestingly, Lindvall uses one-of-a-kind, eco-friendly Valchromat boards. With a moisture resistant and non-toxic surface, the product is perfect for the restaurant’s tables, cabinet doors, and even menus. When paired with a vintage sink and copper taps, the brown Valchromat water station has a personalized, organic appeal.
The building itself has had fascinating reincarnations, from a sausage manufacturing plant to Swedish Tax agency cubicles to Lindvall’s polished restaurant concept. His Usine design may be modern, but it certainly isn’t mechanical.