Best Ugly: Restaurant Concepts and Architecture by Avroko

by Avroko

How did the James Beard award–winning design and architecture team AvroKO become one of the hottest restaurant design firms in Manhattan? They start with a concept, which blossoms to images, ideas, colours, and objects. One of the design lexicons that stuck with the design team is "best ugly" – a term that AvroKO came across when traveling together in China. The oxymoronic yet interesting term is used to describe something that is beautiful and charming in an offbeat, awkward, and obtuse sort of way. In their design book, "Best Ugly", the thirtysomething design team of best friends shows readers how each idea and concept can be integrated into a sophisticated design touch. For anyone interested in design, restaurants, architecture, or sexy photography, "Best Ugly" is a visual feast.

Genres: Interior Design, Nonfiction

256 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2008

Reviews

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant. The best design book in years. These guys are visionary, smart, and artistes of the highest order. OK, maybe I'm drifting into hyperbole here, but, hey, these guys are my friends! Seriously, I always thought what AvroKO did was great, but this book made me appreciate their work a thousandfold. The amount of research, thought, and ingenuity coupled with the plentiful artistic talent that makes up the six restaurants they designed and are featured here in this book is a real testament to their unique abilities as a team and as individuals. And it was great to see so many of Greg Bradshaw's beautiful sketches!

But holy s--t, that's a lot of metallic ink for one book.