ELIXIR
issue : 072003

The question is... is this just another part of a private business or part of a larger public realm? As you sip your new-age-hippie-concoction of tonic and herbal tea, you are hopeful that it is part of a public realm and that it is a good place to rest your feet from walking around Hollywood Boulevard. Elixir is one of the many stores you might walk by in a tourist trap called, Hollywood & Highland (yes, someone spent lots of money to figure that one out), but small details and designs do influence your mood and stops your eyes.

Obviously, the space and the brand is inspired by the traditional Japanese culture, but fused with a twist of industrial language. The main element of this grey zone is a simple I-beam construction of frame that separates the store from the never ending tourists walking up and by from Hollywood Boulevard. A small rectangular space is left open by the steel frame that simultaneously operates as a sitting area, transition zone, and "garden". Interestingly, the typical use of horsetail bamboo as a partition is not seen here, but rather layers of tempered glass hold and sandwich the bamboo shoots in mid-air. The effect demonstrates atypical transparency and privacy of the garden through a clever usage of materials and gives a bizarre illusion of frozen plants (and not to mention the double layer of glass partition blocking noise from near plaza).

Hollywood and Highland is one of the many follow up of large urban stage designs that resemble Universal City Walk and The Grove... but fortunately, you can still find a small glimpse of simple and intelligent beauty.