Interview - Brent Kanbayashi, Architectural Designer of Mr. Lyon's
Brent Kanbayashi is a designer with a background in architecture and fine art from UC Berkeley. As both an artist and designer, Brent brings an extraordinarily high level of craftsmanship to every project that he participates in. His love of Japanese art combined with his understanding of design, composition and form has developed into an aesthetic revolving around the core concepts of minimalism, balance, and austerity. He has the innate ability to design things that are both beautiful yet understated at the same time.
Brent has worked with Foundation 10 on multiple projects including designing both Birba and Jiao and now our soon to open, Mr. Lyon’s. I had the pleasure of sitting down with him to discuss Mr. Lyon’s and its design as well as its place here in Palm Springs. Brent approached the project as an exercise in learning how to successfully embrace the building's history and character yet provide something new at the same time. The restaurant is designed to give a romantic nod to where Palm Springs came from, early Hollywood and the 1940’s art deco period while simultaneously having a contemporary feel. He said one of his favorite parts of the project so far has been uncovering original facades and figuring out a way to adaptively reuse elements of the building in a new way.
A similar approach has been taken when designing the restaurants culinary program, as a classic steakhouse with evolved sides the goal will be creating fresh, inspired, seasonal dishes while maintaining respect for the classics. Tara Lazar (Chef/Owner) "Mr. Lyons is a a modern steakhouse with its roots in the past- timeless cocktails in the tobacco stained lounge will offer a distinctly more casual experience, while a grand marble dining room with side table service brings back the elegance and warmth of personal hospitality." I think it will be a great addition to the Palm Springs Steak house experience-It’s all for the food in the end,” says Brent and the same level of care and thoughtfulness that has been given to the menu at Cheeky’s and Birba will be evident in the menu at Mr. Lyon’s as well.
