Roka Akor SF Bar Wall
Date: 2013
Size: 36′ x 6.5′ x 6″
Materials: Amber Plyboo
Tools: Rhino, Grasshopper
Location: Roka Akor, 801 Montgomery St, San Francisco, California
Collaborators: Arcanum Architecture (Architecture), S/U/M (Wall Fabrication)
Description: Matsys was commissioned to design and fabricate a feature wall for the new bar of Roka Akor. The wall’s gentle undulations evoke the region’s rolling hills while also making resonating with waves and wind. Inspired by Japanese screen paintings of cloudy mountain scenes and the existing vertical wood rib theme found elsewhere in the Bar, the new wall adds a distinct element to the Bar’s main seating area.
Similar to the Zero/Fold Screen completed in 2010, Matsys was interested in minimizing material waste in the fabrication of the wall by using parametric modeling to align adjacent ribs next to each other when cut. The back side of one rib becomes the front side of the next.