HOSPITALITY
SUNNY SIDE UP By STEF SCHWALB All Photographs by Lucianna McIntosh
In the dining area, meandering seating has a relaxed, coastal feel, replete with plant life, marine blue chairs and rust colored booths
Nicknamed “America’s Finest City”, San Diego is known for its amazing weather, beaches, local attractions and, of course, its enticing dining scene. At Callie, located downtown on Island Avenue and designed by architect Mark Bausback of Baus Arch, the cuisine from chef/ owner Travis Swikard is Mediterranean-inspired, and the restaurant’s contemporary interiors are radiant, warm, sophisticated, and delectably in sync with the overall vibe. A large part of this is due to lighting, so we caught up with Becky Becheanu, Lighting Designer for Los Angeles–based, award-winning Studio UNLTD, for insights on the project and what it entailed, starting with how the general design aesthetic—plus Callie’s location—influenced the team’s choices, from the eclectic bar lounge to the space’s overall “Golden Hour” ambiance. “Focusing on the major design feature of the space (the wave of the bar ceiling), the lighting design for Callie
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designing lighting
sought to seamlessly integrate with the architecture—to highlight the golden yellow of the ceiling and emphasize its arched form with soft but dramatic uplighting,” explains Becheanu. “We created a wave of warm light that starts at the back bar, washing up from the bar shelves, uplighting the liquor display, cascading up onto the ceiling, and peeking out with a discreet line of light that emerges at the top of the wave where it meets the horizontal plane above. The warmth of the ceiling is echoed in the amber Marset ‘Dipping Lights’ mounted at the bar top, providing an intimate dining experience for those at the bar. Under-bar lighting that brings out the texture of the corten steel bar face is mirrored at the expo