SURFSIDE, FLA: When Real Estate Developer Morris J. Kaplan decided to create a small, elegant restaurant for Miami’s culinary cognoscenti, he had three primary goals: There would be sushi. It would be kosher. And, the diners would be able to converse in normal tones rather than struggling to communicate over an inescapable restaurant din.
26 Sushi & Tapas represents a tasteful collaboration between Kaplan, and his longtime friend, Master Chef, Fernando Chang. With over a decade of creating and serving outstanding kosher sushi and Japanese cuisine—with a touch of Tapas, Chang and Kaplan were convinced that Miami would relish the kosher sushi option.
Kaplan had grown acutely aware of the importance patron-friendly acoustics over years of dining in trendy but uncomfortably noisy restaurants. Simultaneously involved in the restoration of two Miami-area synagogues, he had been impressed with the quality of the acoustic modeling imagery and auralization reports developed by Walters-Storyk Design Group-WSDG a leading architecture/acoustical design firm for both temples, Kaplan was introduced to WSDG, Partner/ Director of International Relations, Sergio Molho.
With extensive experience in developing pristine acoustical environments for projects ranging from Jazz At Lincoln Center and Berklee College of Music Boston to Electric Lady Studios, WSDG has created over 3500 unimpeachable acoustic environments worldwide. Company co-founder John Storyk has long championed the concept of tempering restaurant noise, and he has written widely on the subject.
“Chef Chang and I have been doing kosher sushi for 15 years,” Kaplan says. “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. 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.”
“Acoustics is a science,” WSDG Co-principal Sergio Molho emphasizes. “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.” Molho concludes. “Morris Kaplan 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.”
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1 26 Sushi Main Dining Room – all seat cushions constructed with absorptive acoustic materials to optimize speech intelligibility.
2 26 Sushi Bar incorporates a custom acoustic diffuser to further minimize intrusive noise levels
3 26 Sushi ceiling is comprised of 650 sq. ft. of Acoustic Plaster covered with stretch fabric
4 26 Sushi rear-to-front with view of private dining room leather covered wall panels covering acoustic foam backing
5 Wide shot of 26 Sushi main dining area
6 Entrance 26 Sushi & Tapas, Surfside, Fla.
7 26 Sushi Presentation Drawing (courtesy WSDG) depicts acoustic ceiling solution 650 sq. ft. of Acoustic Plaster (blue line) covered with stretch fabric. Red line illustrates reverberation time (noise level) without treatments.
Photos by: Dale Stein
Walters-Storyk Design Group-WSDG, a media facility design and consulting firm has collaborated on over 3500 audio /video facilities worldwide. Credits include Jimi Hendrix’s Electric Lady Studios (1969); NYC’s Jazz At Lincoln Center and Le Poisson Rouge; broadcast facilities for The Food Network, ESPN, and WNET; major education complexes for NYU, Art Institute and Berklee College of Music, Valencia and Boston (2015 TEC winner); and media rooms for such corporate clients as Hoffman La Roche, Cemex, and Sony. Studio projects include NYC’s Jungle City Studios for award winning engineer, Ann Mincieli and private studios for Green Day (CA), Jay-Z (NY), film composers Carter Burwell (NY) and A.R. Rahman (India), Aerosmith (Boston), Bruce Springsteen (NJ), Alicia Keys (NY), and Paul Epworth’s The Church Studios (London). WSDG principals John Storyk, Beth Walters, Sergio Molho, Silvia Molho, Renato Cipriano, and Dirk Noy lecture frequently at universities and industry events, and contribute regularly to industry publications. WSDG has collaborated with such noted architects as Frank Gehry, Norman Foster and Phillipe Stark. WSDG is a nine-time winner of the NAMM TEC Award for outstanding achievement in Acoustics/Facility Design. The firm maintains offices in New York, Miami, Buenos Aires (Argentina), Belo Horizonte (Brazil) and Basel (Switzerland) with representatives in Barcelona (Spain), Moscow, Guangzhou (China), Florence (Italy), Mexico City, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
