Acutely aware of the acoustic shortcomings of the majority of fashionable but uncomfortably noisy restaurants, real estate developer Morris J Kaplan was planning to create a small, elegant restaurant for Miami. He had three primary goals – there would be sushi, it would be kosher and diners would be able to converse in normal tones rather than struggling to communicate over an inescapable restaurant din.
The result – 26 Sushi & Tapas – represents a collaboration between Kaplan and long-time friend, Master Chef, Fernando Chang. With more than a decade of creating and serving outstanding kosher sushi and Japanese cuisine, Chang and Kaplan were convinced that Miami would relish kosher sushi.
‘Chef Chang and I have been doing kosher sushi for 15 years,’ Kaplan confirms. ‘When the opportunity arose to develop a restaurant in the heart of Surfside, my wife suggested I partner with Fernando. Our goal was to create a superb kosher culinary experience in a setting conducive to quiet conversation. The noise levels in most restaurants are so unbearable that this basic human requirement becomes virtually impossible.
Having used architecture/acoustical design firm the Walters-Storyk Design Group-WSDG in configuring two temples sent him back for more: ‘My experience in developing two Miami area synagogues with WSDG convinced me that they could collaborate with our architects Telesco Associates to make 26 Sushi’s environment as tasteful as its food,’ Kaplan says.
‘Acoustics is a science,’ WSDG Co-principal Sergio Molho says. ‘We have contributed to its body of knowledge by pioneering processes to inhibit noise and substantially improve speech intelligibility. These innovations run the gamut from computer-assisted acoustic simulations at the outset of a project to controlling an existing environment’s ambient quality with a combination of absorptive and diffusive elements. For 26 Sushi & Tapas, we also recommended custom banquet seats with built-in broad- band frequency treatments that enable the seats to serve as acoustic absorption elements.
‘Morris reports that his diners have been complimenting the quality of 26’s atmosphere as well as excellence of its food. WSDG is pleased to have contributed our ‘special acoustic sauce’ to his new restaurant’s recipe for success.’
More: www.wsdg.com
