Elevated planting, earthy tones and natural materials are all found inside a restaurant designed by New York studio Carpenter + Mason in Brooklyn's Greenpoint neighbourhood.
The all-day restaurant serves New American fare in a ground-floor space inside the historic Pencil Factory building on bustling Franklin Street.
Sereneco occupies a double-height space in a former pencil factory
Sereneco means "serenity" in Esperanto, a language developed for international communication in the late 19th century.
The auxiliary language has associations with the Usonian architecture movement heralded by Frank Lloyd Wright ? Usono is the name for the United States in Esperanto ? which also informed design decisions for the restaurant.
Customers are greeted by a ficus plant growing through a marble counter Owner Billy Van Doelson and partner Jim Nawn worked with Carpenter + Mason and Cocozza Group on the design and construction.
Much of the original industrial building was preserved, including exposed brick walls and concrete floors.
The restaurants provides seating for 70 diners
The double-height dining room benefits from 20-foot-high (six-metre) ceilings, punctuated by skylights that provide natural illumination.
Large spherical paper pendants are also suspended from the ceiling, hung at the same level as wooden planters installed around the perimeter ? a nod to the Usonian value of incorporating nature into architecture.
Wooden furniture and terracotta tiles add warmth to the ...