Anarchitect, an award-winning international architecture, interior architecture and design practice based in Dubai (UAE) with collaborative studios in London (UK), won top honours at the Commercial Interior Design (CID) Awards 2015 held in Dubai.

The company won the ‘Outstanding use of American Hardwood in the Middle East’ award for its Abu Dhabi project ‘No.57 Boutique Café’ at the awards ceremony held in the JW Marriott Marquis Hotel.

The award was sponsored by the American Hardwood Export Council (Ahec), the leading international trade association for the American hardwood industry, for the fifth year running.

Roderick Wiles, Ahec director for the Middle East and Africa, presented the award to Anarchitect's Jonathan Ashmore and co-collaborator ‎on the No.57 project, Tarik Zaharna.

The jury lauded Anarchitect for its “well presented and completed project”. The members described the design as clear, well explored and effortless in execution.

Crafted materiality and a sense of intrigue all in a relatively small space shaped the design approach of Anarchitect, which envisaged the restaurant as a natural evolution of the famous dinner club events created and run by their clients for the last couple of years.

Meanwhile, the HSBC Office in Etihad Towers by Artillery Architecture Interior Design also won praise from the judges for its “comprehensive use of wood with nice detailing which goes beyond floor finishing.”

The other nominations for the award included the ‘Tabu Bar’ by MMAC Design Associates and ‘Townhouse Fairmont Residence’ by Alfred Johnson Design.

Commenting on the project, Ashmore said the decision was made to work with a refined palette of three main materials for the overall project.

"The light and airy bistro uses American white oak plank floors, custom-made tables with carrara marble tops and black powder-coated metal details. Constructed from hollow square-section powder-coated steel with solid American white oak shelf inserts, the bespoke storage wall and kitchen pass was carefully designed to accommodate all types of crockery and bottles," said Ashmore.

Material composition is then reversed in the dining area to include marble floors, American white oak table-tops and custom-built joinery and banquets, which offers a contemporary elegance for late afternoon and evening dining, he added.

"The project looks great and functions exactly as we planned it. No.57 was a solid and well detailed canvas upon which we wanted our clients to grow‎ and add their own styles over time, just like a residential project. The project was also a seed in a new location with an interesting client to hopefully act as a catalyst for the wider surrounding community to take inspiration," observed the architect.

"We have had a great response internationally for the design of the project and also positive feedback from the clients, staff and visitors for the overall look, feel and functionality for the space. Having worked with white oak on previous projects, we will continue to work with it on future projects both in the Middle East and internationally,” said Ashmore.

Anarchitect, he stated, also designed all of the custom joinery pieces and timber wall panelling using American white oak solids and veneers with an open grain.

"American white oak helps evoke a Scandinavian freshness coupled with a New England crafted quality," he added.

In his comments, Wiles said American white oak was widely available and hence a popular choice with architects and designers in export markets around the world, due to its colour consistency and the high volume of square-edged lumber production, and veneer availability.

"Suitable for flooring, furniture, joinery and also certain structural applications, white oak is one of the most versatile of the many hardwood species available from the US," he noted.

"At this year’s CID Awards, white oak was well represented, but it was also great to see a broad range of other American hardwood species used in variety of creative and well-designed applications," he added.-TradeArabia News Service