The Spare Room, nominated for an RDA in the Lounge/Nightclub category.

The Los Angeles chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA|LA) has announced the nominees for the 7th Annual AIA|LA Restaurant Design Awards. The panel of jurors, including Dean Larkin (Dean Larkin Design), Mark Peel (Campanile, Tar Pit) and Haily Zaki (Secret Agent PR) convened on May 19th to review this year’s entries and finalize the list of 14 nominees.

Among the Lounge/Nightclub nominees is The Spare Room, designed by (fer) Studio, the firm that also created the interior for Father’s Office at Helms Bakery. Speaking of Sang Yoon, Lukshon is nominated in the Restaurant category, along with fellow Culver City locations Pitfire Pizza and Gyenari, which recently re-opened as MoKo.

San Francisco's Gitane, a Café/Bar nominee. | Photo: Gitane

Following is the complete list of nominees:

Restaurant

• Edamame Sushi + Grill (Columbus, OH)
• Grace Restaurant (Portland, ME)
• Gyenari (Culver City, CA)
• Lukshon (Culver City, CA)
• Pitfire Pizza (Culver City, CA)
• The Wright at the Guggenheim Museum (New York, NY)
• Twenty Five Lusk (San Francisco, CA)

Café/Bar

• City Center’s ARIA Pool Deck (Las Vegas, NV)
• Earl’s Gourmet Grub (Los Angeles, CA)
• Gitane (San Francisco, CA)
• Mendocino Farms (Marina del Rey, CA)
• Sprinkles Cupcakes (New York, NY)

Lounge/Nightclub

• Icenhauer’s (Austin, TX)
• The Spare Room (Hollywood, CA)

The Jury Winners from this list will be announced at the Restaurant Design Awards Ceremony on Friday June 24th, as part of the Dwell on Design expo at the LA Convention Center.

The People’s Choice Awards are back this year by popular demand. AIA|LA is inviting the public to vote for favorite nominees in each of the three categories. Voting is now open and closes on Monday, June 20th at 12pm (PST). The highest recipient of votes in each category will also be announced on Friday, June 24th during the RDAs.

Related posts:

1. The Varnish and Las Perlas Finalists for 2010 AIA Restaurant Design Awards
2. 2011 Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards Nominees Announced
3. Boxing Day Social at The Spare Room

The Varnish | Photo: ZagatBuzz - Flickr

The finalists for the 2010 AIA|LA Restaurant Design Awards (RDA) have been announced, and two of the three nominees in the Bar/Lounge category come from LA’s 213 Ventures: The Varnish and Las Perlas. Ricki Kline (213′s resident designer) supervised both projects, in collaboration with Kelly Architects (The Varnish) and MASS Architecture + Design and Jeanmarie Dumouchel (Las Perlas).

Now in its sixth year, the AIA|LA (American Institute of Architects, Los Angeles) design competition is open to all individuals and practices, with both owners and architects/designers invited to submit. The project itself must be located in the United States, or the submitting individual/firm must be US-based.

The RDA Jury Panel includes distinguished members of the media, restaurant, and design industries:

2010 AIA|LA Restaurant Design Awards Jury

• Lara Deam – Owner and Founder, Dwell
• Ben Ford – Chef & Restaurateur, Ford’s Filling Station
• Clive Piercy – Principal, Air Conditioned [design]
• Joey Shimoda, AIA – Principal, Shimoda Design Group

The panel convened on May 20th to review this year’s entries and designate projects for recognition. Eleven projects were selected as finalists for this year’s competition: 3 in the Bar/Lounge Category, 3 in the Restaurant Category, and 5 in the Café Category.

Regarding the selection of the RDA finalists, Ben Ford said, “The finalists were ultimately chosen because they all conveyed something more honest, cohesive concepts that had grown organically, that didn’t challenge the diner but rather invited them to an experience.” Clive Piercy added, “We looked for strongly detailed designs with follow-through and integrity in the way that they were executed.”

Las Perlas | Photo: 213 Ventures

And the nominees are:

2010 Restaurant Design Awards Finalists

Bar/Lounge Category

• Las Perlas (Los Angeles, CA)
• Press Club (San Francisco, CA)
• The Varnish (Los Angeles, CA)

Restaurant Category

• Char No. 4 (Brooklyn, NY)
• Choice Restaurant (Brooklyn, NY)
• South Beverly Grill (Beverly Hills, CA)

Café Category

• Café de Leche (Los Angeles, CA)
• Intelligentsia Venice (Venice, CA)
• Mod Market (Boulder, CO)
• Sandwiched (New York, NY)
• URBNMRKT (Los Angeles, CA)

Back by popular demand are The People’s Choice Awards, where AIA|LA invites foodies, imbibers and design geeks to vote for their favorite finalists in each of the three categories. Voting is now open at the 2010 RDA People’s Choice Awards page, and closes on Monday, June 21st at 12pm (PST).

Winners of the Jury Awards and People’s Choice Awards will be announced at the annual RDA Awards Ceremony on Friday, June 25th in conjunction with MOBIUS LA, the official design conference of AIA|LA.

Related posts:

1. The Spare Room Nominated for 2011 AIA|LA Restaurant Design Awards
2. 2010 James Beard Award Finalists Announced
3. 2010 Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards Nominees Announced