PNY Burger Restaurant in Paris by Bernard Dubois

Trust Paris to have a damn sophisticated looking burger restaurant, such as the likes of PNY on Rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine by Belgian architect Bernard Dubois. On a self-proclaimed mission to make the best burgers the French capital has ever seen, this is the chain’s sixth outpost in the lively, trendy 11th arrondissement. Known for blurring the lines between various stylistic genres, Dubois drew on diverse references for the restaurant’s design.

Being a burger restaurant, the obvious starting point for Dubois was a typical ‘60s diner, which he subverts through the lens of post-modernism and the ‘80s. The classic booth design is revisited via a series of partition walls made of dark timber panelling, implemented in order to fragment the long and relatively narrow space. The walls are thick, edged in shiny black to contrast the natural timber, and form an oblong shape through which the restaurant is viewed. The walls are a direct reference to Swiss architect Mario Botta’s 1988 housing building in the Novazzano district of Switzerland.

For the oblong shaped opening, Dubois was inspired by Hans Hollein’s Retti Candle Shop. Stacked behind one another, the partitions create a deep and layered perspective warmly illuminated by subdued lighting and a spotlight. The kitchen is at the very end of the tunnel-like vision, conceived by Dubois as a cold and minimal laboratory in contrast to the inviting restaurant interior.

Mirrored panels line the walls facing each other, enhancing the infinite perspective. Custom three-legged chairs upholstered in black leather are reminiscent of Kazuo Shinohara’s Miss Butterfly. Banquet seats hark back to the stereotypical diner aesthetic, pulled into 80s territory with coral laminate floors. A bar features open shelves busily stacked with beer and wine.