Choice Market
108 Jay Street
Brooklyn, New York
Tel: 718-797-1695
Designer: Evan Douglis Studio

The Brooklyn emporium Choice has opened its latest location in Dumbo, and the new cafe reflects the district’s industrial-chic aesthetic. A subdued palette of tan Chinese stone, polished concrete, and Cor-ten steel offers a comfortable yet contemporary look, but a surprise awaits overhead in the cafe’s exuberant ceiling. With volutes and swirling forms that recall baroque and rococo decoration, the custom-made work bears the signature of Brooklyn-based design firm Evan Douglis Studio. Drawing on a longstanding interest in ornamental forms and emerging fabrication technologies, the architect created the new modular ceiling from 16 primary building components that were computer-designed and created by a 3-D printer. From these originals, the team fabricated 635 lightweight urethane replicas. These elements are arranged to give an illusion of continual, swirling motion. Looking like dollops of whipped cream, the forms have a “magical and soothing quality,” said principal Evan Douglis, while containing the cafe’s sound and sprinkler systems within. Suspended from the construction are 45 handblown glass chandeliers––named Moon Jelly, the bubble-shaped pieces are like “fireflies that float underneath the night sky,” according to Douglis––and complete the exquisite sculpture.