Harlem-based Focus Lighting has been illuminating beautifully designed spaces—from hotels and resorts to museums, offices, and private residences—since 1987. Their creative process is informed by experience in theater, architecture, and design, and their projects around the world are designed to create engagement and emotion, bringing drama, composition, and balance to the human experience.
The brand has designed two new spaces in New York—the Crown Club in Brooklyn’s Barclay’s Center with renowned designer Ken Fulk, and Zou Zou’s, a new restaurant located in the Manhattan West neighborhood, designed by AvroKO.
The exclusive Crown Club provides an upscale dining and club experience for season passholders cheering on the Brooklyn Nets and the New York Liberty. The space, created by design luminary Ken Fulk, is comprised of five distinct thematic environments for fans to spend pre-, post-, and mid-game time. Dining rooms, a bar and lounge, a grab-and-go snack pantry, and private dining rooms are all lit for functionality as well as dramatic ambiance. Fulk used rich reds and greens, offset by geometric and floral patterns, adding visual interest to the luxurious spaces. In the pantry, vibrant raspberry lacquered walls frame an assortment of goodies to satisfy every taste. Focus Lighting amplified this whimsical space by creating three separate layers of light, creating a halo of light to frame each delectable treat.
In the lounge, fans can take a break while keeping up with the action on the court. To avoid the dead space created by multiple television screens, Focus Lighting encased them in a one-way mirrored glass. When not in use they reflect the décor of the bar area, and the mirrors also provide a filter for the bright light that they emit while showcasing the game.
Over in the new neighborhood of Manhattan West, a different kind of project took shape. Zou Zou’s is a Levant-inspired Mediterranean restaurant by the Quality Branded team, known for their buzz-worthy restaurants Quality Italian and Don Angie. In a collaborative effort with design firm AvroKO, Focus incorporated lighting that evokes the seaside resorts of the region. Arches and vaulted pillars celebrate the curvilinear designs of Levantine architecture, and the lighting accentuates the curves with carefully placed fixtures to highlight the architecture without distracting from it.
By utilizing separately controlled architectural lighting fixtures in all the niches and coves, under the bars and running along major architectural features of the space, Focus successfully—and subtly— integrated lighting in the space. The Focus team worked with the designers to choose finishes, capitalizing on their expert knowledge of light and how it reflects, refracts, and plays with its surroundings. This experience is just one of the things that makes Focus Lighting an in-demand leader in the design industry.
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