Bentonville CO-OP Ramen Restaurant, Arkansas Commercial Interior, American Architecture Images
CO-OP Ramen Restaurant in Bentonville
June 30, 2020
CO-OP Ramen Restaurant
Design: Marlon Blackwell Architects
Location: 801 SE 8th Street, Bentonville, Arkansas, United States of America

Marlon Blackwell Architects (MBA) is the designer behind the new 2,000 square foot fast casual CO-OP Ramen Restaurant, in the 8th Street Market. Located in a reimagined disused food processing plant, 8th Street Market is a community-focused food hub and part of the reinvention of downtown Bentonville into a vibrant destination for locals and visitors.

Blackwell and his team used simple and unrefined materials for CO-OP Ramen, such as concrete masonry units and plywood, which they assembled in an unexpected composition, creating a visually arresting interior.
The view of the restaurant from the exterior storefront windows is filtered through a continuous length of steel beaded curtain, which reflects and softens the light and delays the full experience of the space until one enters.

Embracing the Japanese notion of wabi-sabi, which celebrates the asymmetries and imperfections in natural and unrefined objects, MBA used construction quality plywood, a simple material which was elevated by employing careful joinery and edge detailing.

A highlight in the space are the generously-spaced booths with full-height partitions rising between them, creating a feeling of being seated inside a cave, where...