Rice to Riches

THE PROJECT

Behind the distinction.

With the new Lower East Side-location of Rice to Riches, the Wid Chapman Architects were tasked with reimagining an iconic namesake rice pudding parlor, located for over twenty years in the Soho neighborhood of Manhattan.

Inspired by the shape of rice grains, as well as the consistency of creamy pudding, the firm created a curvaceous retail and eating environment. Walls are layered with a continuous form that undulates up and down around the space. This forward-protruding plane houses 36 oval shape LED screens with constantly moving images and witty verbal quips about consuming rice pudding- a brand hallmark of the previous store.

The pudding retail display case has a similar vocabulary, as do the ceilings with their irregular-shaped lighting recesses. These recesses in turn contain thousands of opaque and translucent acrylic rods of varying lengths and colors which serves to animate the ceiling and the entire place.

A playful, wavy banquette wraps the entire storefront wall with oval storefront windows above. Along the banquette are tables which suspend from the ceiling from posts that appear to grow from conal forms on the ceiling. Picking up on the orange accent theme throughout, these tables contain an orange back lit ring of acrylic.