IIDA Georgia Best of the Best Restaurant Design Award | 2020
Alderwood Santa Cruz is a renovation of a former casual sandwich shop into a fine casual restaurant in downtown Santa Cruz. The bulk of our inspiration came from beautiful photographs of foraged mushrooms taken by Chef Jeffrey Wall. The balance of colors and textures are presented in these photographs in a way that is at once composed and casual. More than anything, that is what informed our design approach. We developed a palette of varied wood species and tones which are expressed differently throughout the space, both in their form and finish. A series of existing skylights provided dramatic sculptural relief in the ceiling, so we chose to primarily illuminate the space from the walls with sconce lighting (in some instances projecting six feet from their anchoring point). The warm palette is punctuated with bold blue wool and leather upholstery, emulating the sublime feel of the coastal waters of Santa Cruz.