PROJECT OVERVIEW: making Ryan Braun's Bar- a Great Feat of Manpower, Determination, and Endurance

Here's a photo of the old Fratello's, after being gutted, and before its eventual transformation.

When I first walked into, what I referred to back then, as "the old Fratello's" It was nothing more than a blank canvas from an artist's standpoint. In fact, I could go so far as to say it wasn't quite as promising as a blank canvas; it was more like a tainted, dirty canvas. The bar that had previously been in place, looked like some imitation stone that would have managed to appall me even if I had seen it just in a "Flintstones" cartoon. I wouldn't have been surprised if a spilled drink just absorbed into the surface in fact, and my bet is that anything above 60 proof, would have dissolved a hole through it like vinegar on sugar.
Now this was all before I had become somewhat of a deservingly titled "concrete snob" mind you, a title I had felt that had been earned through our small teams tireless efforts to complete this ambitious project on a deadline far thinner than our wits would wear, even after 36 hour concrete binges, several last minute design alterations, and over 50,000 pounds of concrete lifted between the four man team we had assembled. Put another way- you really have to have a love for what you do to put that kind of work and effort into a project, and see it come to fruition as we eventually did; and needless to say, my constantly nagging questions about the properties of concrete, and the exciting new process that I was observing (and documenting)- have left me with enough confidence to at least share with you all, some of the amazing pictures of the tireless process that was behind the making of Ryan Braun's bar, and the custom restaurant decor. Them fella's at iNViDiA, really know concrete as well as they know their mothers, and Ken and Aaron are absolute madmen for pulling this project off successfully. It really goes to show you how far ambition, work-ethic, and passion can take you!


Here, we see the crucial meeting of minds that takes place regularly in any of iNViDiA's jobs, in order to orchestrate all elements of art and design, and keep them directed accordingly.

So even as hands-on, physically-based, and often times, aggressive, a material concrete can be to work with; great lengths go into the proper planning and theoretical design before anything can actually happen. In this particular project, as the deadline from beginning to end was literally within the framework of two weeks, preliminary work was not as arduous as would be typical of this scale of a job- none the less, that makes constant communication between all professionals associated, all the more crucial.
Ken and Aaron worked very closely with the interior designer, architect, and general contractor to finalize all the blueprints, drawings, and paperwork that grunts like myself needn't concern themselves with. In order to get a job done effectively, and correctly, a constant balance between action, and theory, is of the utmost concern to iNViDiA DESIGN's business ethics.


All eyes on Aaron as he explains his plans for installing a functional element of decor that iNViDiA designed in response to the restaurants request to re-use as much of the discarded materials from Fratello's as possible. Of course, this is all indicated in the photo by Aaron's obviously explanatory gestures- which could also be mistaken for one of his exaggerated fishing stories. I still don't believe he caught a sunfish that big, but ill drop it and move along here...


Ken has a seat in the dismantled dining room, and envisions the best placement for the fore-mentioned decor, that will function to draw sections of the restaurant apart from one another without literally dividing them by walls, and while still working to unite the space as a whole. But then again, thats what KEN said he was doing while sitting there- I think he was working on his plan to obtain an ostrich, so he can ride it through town while wearing a top-hat. I can't think of any other reasonable explanation for that faraway look he has- and it is probably noteworthy that if you know Ken personally, you'll know that my assumption really is perfectly reasonable.

Meet Matt! See Matt level. Level Matt, level! Matt is an all around, everyday super hero and stand-in bartender, printing pro, wagon-wheeler, graphic designer, home depot correspondent, story-teller, and just an all around stand-up guy in most any other department as well. What the hell do you do?

So somewhere in between the preliminary design work- including (but not limited to), the initial bid, proposal, blueprint's, alterations, and otherwise theory focused rhetoric, and initial paperwork involved with planning a job from beginning to end- somewhere in between all that, and the proper preparation of the molds for a pour (as seen above); is the very important and very painstaking task of planning and constructing the actual molds, to fit the design that has been determined. Given the scope, and the time frame of this particular job, the molds have been sub-contracted, or otherwise, outsourced to a woodworker that iNViDiA has decided to work with for this project.
The essential relationship that develops between the major figures in this job- namely, iNViDiA's relationship with the Interior Designers, Architects, and the General Contractor; is comparable to their relationship when sub-contracting someone for a job, such as a mold-maker. Constant dialogue is essential in making sure that the mold-maker is following the plans that have been drawn up accordingly, or the serious risk of pouring pieces that do not fit the design (to a tee), becomes apparent. This can be particularly daunting to Aaron and Ken's eye for detail, and perfectionist's obsession, because realistically, without a wood shop and another half-dozen of themselves cloned- they do not have time to make the molds and do everything else.
Because of the size, and relatively complex design of the bar, a substantial amount of time was spent on location with their mold-maker in order to draw up a template of the fifteen piece mold. For the record, us folks involved in the art and business of concrete and concrete design, would say that a fifteen piece mold, is pretty F'in substantial! So after all the preliminary design work with the mold maker takes place, and Ken and Aaron are finally pleased with the plans and arrangements determined on paper; their happy little mold-maker tap dances off into the sunset, drawing's in hand of course, and begins this massive mold-making extravaganza with little time to spare, and no room for error.

Meanwhile, at the hall of justice- or more than likely, iNViDiA's studio- this short amount of time between planning the mold-making, and pouring the molds, is used to meet with iNViDiA Design associate, Carl Hoenisch, to pound out the final details of Aaron and Ken's proposed design solution that would effectively be a major element of the restaurant's layout and overall style. The plans and prototypes for the intriguing design, involve re-using the massive amounts of hurricane-grade sheet acrylic that had been leftover from Fratello's, and then framing it in combination with a cost effective, and industrially reminiscent material; steel. As a well trusted associate of iNViDiA, with a track record for meeting Ken and Aaron's high standards, Carl was given the job of fabricating the steel frames that would hold the acrylic panels.
The design in general, was both of great interest and great debate to fellow peers working with Ken and Aaron on this job; and while many began to sweat the outcome of the final installation- Aaron and Ken, somehow managed to grin slyly in the face of apprehension, and remained boldly invested in their initial design, and completely confident that it would effectively achieve the desired aesthetic. So will the original designs make the cut? Stay tuned to find out!

After a final review of the drawings/dimensions of the steel frames, the legion of justice- or as you know them, the INVIDIA Design crew- got what was likely to be the last good night of decent sleep for the next solid week... After having a few beers, and pondering the cosmos, and the meaning of life that is...

Here we can see all the molds being prepared in iNViDiA's warehouse space. Preparation consists merely of leveling them, cleaning them out, and elevating them on pallets - but even with the simple mistake of mis-reading a level, it is plausible to have a piece that will no longer fit into the orientation of the other 14. That might be why I was instructed to "not ever touch the molds ever again... no, you can't touch them with a stick either." (at which point Ken took my stick away and I was told to go color)


Originally, I was putting marbles in the center of each mold, and I would wedge the mold accordingly until the marble would remain in the exact center without rolling, thus forth determining it was level. After spending an entire day doing this, and leveling about three and a half molds, SMARTY-PANTS Matt, showed me his fancy-pants methods of using a level, which STILL took at least ten minutes per mold. I guess some people just aren't concerned with quality like I am, and needless to say, after displaying this trait to Ken and Aaron with my innovative marble tactic, I was immediately told to stay away from the molds, and was promptly PROMOTED to camera-man, blog writer, and coffee holder.

Here we see the few materials needed to begin our pour. One would think that to complete a job of this size, it would take allot more than four people, and might require allot more heavy machinery then you see here. Although many that work in this trade, DO choose to go that route; Aaron and Ken just have to do things their way, and they prefer to rely on manpower and hand craft as opposed to machine power and systematic craft. I will expand on this in a moment for you fine readers, as I am sure you are just as curious about the benefits to their decisions in process, as I was.

With everything in order after a night of half-decent sleep, and our heads as clear as they would be for the upcoming week- it was finally time for us to commence with the actual pouring of the molds! As a seasoned sculpture nerd, I am proudly and pathetically excited by the thrill of a good pour. I have been better known to participate in bronze pours, traditional iron pours, or any of the plaster mold making pours involved with foundry work; but this was a whole new process for me, and I was eager to get that concrete flowing. With all of iNViDiA's product lines, especially the savvy custom sink and counter-top lines they had shown me- I would have NEVER known they were using different forms of concrete to make them! They all looked absolutely pristine, and had a surface quality and texture that I couldn't put my finger on, and I took note that no two products ever seemed to look alike. Needless to say, a sculpture nerd such as myself was giddy with excitement to see how this transformation takes place.

Unfortunately, this was our first shorter pour of the two massive sessions that took place, and we were wearing regular street clothes. By the next days remaining pour, we were lucid enough to have all agreed that iNViDiA needs to represent classiness by pouring and installing concrete in suits and ties! Carl was good enough to break out of prison for the night and give us a hand too, as can be noted by the convict orange jump-suit. Yep, all about class.

A larger scale traditional mortar mixer that is often used with concrete work is quite a beast, and it sits in the back of iNViDiA's shop with its poor, lonely, dilapidated, concrete-laden mixing paddles; and very little hope to mix much more in it's lifetime. It's a somewhat sad ordeal for the pricey bulk of machinery, but the benefits to working with the affordable hand-mixer are numerous. The primary fact of the matter, is that the hand mixer allows you to get into every nook and cranny of your receptacle, and ensure with your very own hands and eyes that there are no chunks of aggregate, unmixed sand, or globs of coloring that might have sat idle with the large mixer; and because of this, you can ensure that your mix is of a high quality, and of your specific requirements- and believe me, Ken and Aaron's requirements are quite often "specific," to say the least. Although the extra effort is substantial in working like this; between quality, time, and effort- quality is the absolute most important aspect of a job, period.

Another major advantage to the hand mixer, is mobility. Often times with concrete, the most difficult part of a job might actually be the installation, purely because of how heavy the molds might be. This means that depending on the finishing work involved with the job, it might be seriously beneficial to pour on-site and rid yourself of the difficulty, and often hazardous portion of the work that transportation and installation can be. In the case of this job of course, this was not an option because of scale, location, and the meticulous finishing work that was needed to achieve the desired surface quality.

Everyone- except for some moron taking pictures of other people working- works carefully to maintain the integrity of the concrete mixture, an essential part of the process.

Once you begin the concrete mixing process, all systems are go, and a rhythm must be attained between the team. Since it takes about 2 fully mixed batches to fill a single mold (in this case), one person must spread the first batch, and fill the channels of the lip, while the second batch is being mixed to carefully match the first one in color and viscosity. The concrete sets incredibly fast, so there is little room for forgiveness in your teams choreography. One person inlays the wire mesh to increase durability, and the edges are vibrated with an enormous snake vibrator in order to bring all of the voids, gaps, and excess water to the surface of the mold. That person continues finishing the surface with a trowel, making sure it is absolutely clean and level, while the mixing and pouring continues onto the next molds in line.
The first night, we poured 4 molds so that there would be a batch of pieces to begin cleaning and slurrying, while the remaining eleven would be curing the next day. Maintaining the rhythm of the process as you progress from mold to mold is a challenge, but by the time we got to the fourth mold, we were still keeping up strong. All in all, it was a strangely invigorating process. The physical nature of the medium, and sheer force it takes to move or manipulate the concrete really gives you a workout, and the outcome is really quite satisfying. To think people actually pay to go to a gym every month!?


Here we see Aaron and Carl doing some finishing work on the nearly set pieces, while Ken and I quickly rinse all the tools and materials to preserve their quality. An easy way to foul up the finished product is to have tools that are always filthy with dried cement.


The pieces cure for a few hours before they are safe to de-mold, and then go through their FIRST stage of grinding and cleaning. After they are reasonably cleaned up, a process of slurrying takes place, and they are meticulously cleaned up with a water fed grinder for the second time. If any "bug-holes," or air pockets on the surface show through, then they are slurried and cleaned again until an absolutely flawless surface is attained.


This is the very rough product that comes out immediately after the de-molding process. Charcoal tint was used to darken the concrete, in order to achieve the color you see above. The lonely mortar mixer makes a guest appearance in back as well- poor thing is just dying for attention, it's such a pity (sigh)...


While the inside studio holds around 5 pieces, the rest of the portions have been poured in the raw space as pictured above. Ken and Matt reflect on the grueling several hour, eleven piece, mold pouring session that took place earlier, and Aaron works inside to do the first round of grinding and clean-up so we can get on to coating the pieces with the slurry mix.


A grinder is used in combination with a consistent water flow to keep the dust out of the way, reduce ware on the grinder, and effectively get my socks sopping wet throughout the course of the day. This happens- the first time- after the initial de-molding process, and than a coat of slurry (a cement based mixture used to fill in the small holes), is used to fill the tiny air gaps on the surface.


Slowly but surely, all the molds are cycled in and out of the grinding room, and back out to the raw space for further slurrying, and at some point, a final inspection.


The chalky appearance that the surface takes on, is only the first coat of slurry mix that is applied. A slightly different color than that of the surface is used for the slurry, in order to contribute a unique design element by giving the holes a slightly different color on the surface, and an organic pattern inevitably reveals itself in the final product. It really is what people like me would call, "neat-o!"


Ahhh, much better, eh? While waiting for Aaron to do some of the finishing work on our first cycle of pieces, Ken and I do some sanding by hand to even out that chalky residue. Not too bad overall, but just you wait till we run that through the grinding process again! Indeed, the finishing process of the concrete pieces are trying on my lack of patience, but it really is an incredibly rewarding process to watch them all become so beautiful.


You can see that upon the second run through of the grinding, the surface begins to really take on a new look. As you continue to run the pieces through the surfacing process, the grit on the grinding pad is changed each time to a finer level of coarseness.


So here, we see a piece that is almost done except for a few minor final touch ups. Along with these final touch ups that take place to ensure absolute perfection, is the surface treatments that the bar will receive after being installed.


AND PRESTO! look at the surface of that baby, GORGEOUS!!

For better or for worse, I have no pictures of the hectic final 2 sleepless days that the installation of this bar was. I suppose that's because I was busy working though, so come on, give a guy a break here. As much as I would like to say that iNViDiA just makes the perfect product and finally gets their much needed sleep, while magical installation elves carry each of those painstakingly heavy slabs in and out, AND then go through the process of leveling and orienting everything, AND THEN seal all the lines where the bar tops meet, AND OF COURSE apply the final several coats of surface treatment- as much as I wish I could say that was how it went down, it just wasn't the case. We worked our asses off on little to no sleep in order to get every piece of this enormous bar in place, and get going on the finishing work. That is not to mention all those minor difficulties that pop up along the way, OR the fact that Aaron and Ken were both pretty much hallucinating by this point from sleeplessness.


When I finally got around to getting these documentation shots a few days after being finished with the job- a barely attainable notion to us at the time, it was a mockingly calm atmosphere as compared to the circus like madness that a restaurant opening is (we had bartenders being trained on a bar that was still being installed!). This is also a good photograph to take note of that wonderful effect the slurry has by being a lighter tint then the surface itself- notice the pretty little speckles of light gray that really make this surface intriguing.


A few days later, and Aaron is back to check up on the long term curing stages that the concrete goes through- golly, what an interesting material, wouldn't you agree!? My job here, is to get some quick photo's, and then make sure Aaron doesn't spend the rest of the day here analyzing the outcome of the surface. The poor guy just can't help himself, and if its not him, it's Ken! I'm risking my neck here, but if you continue to follow this process blog, I might have a few inappropriate pictures of Ken and Aaron both loving concrete a little bit too much- even by my nerdy standards- I make no promises here though.


In Aaron's free time, he hangs out at the new restaurant with a sanding block, and sands underneath peoples drinks when they leave circles from not using a napkin or coaster. I beg you, just use napkins so Ken and I don't have to drag him out of there anymore, and so no more customers end up with black eyes.


The final product is so rewarding to see when all is said and done!

So in between the final crazy installation of this, and within those final few hours before opening, we FINALLY brought the finished steel frames into the restaurant for installation, and damned if Ken and Aaron didn't really pull something amazing off there. They turned out absolutely amazing, and given the challenge and restrictions within their design, they really managed to create something beautiful. As hectic as the final installation was for everyone, it was all worth while, and we all ended up having enough time to go home, shower, and come back to the huge opening to hang out with Ryan Braun himself!


Here we see the concept come to life, and instead of using entire walls, or chintzy ropes or something, these panels act as an excellent marriage of function AND form!


These are the larger scale frames that are used in between the bar and the restaurant, to discern a separation of space, but still have a nice open feeling to the room.








Finally, we all made it back, and were able to eat and drink to our hearts content at the party- a wonderful way to end a very hectic two weeks! We all had a bit too much to drink, and had a wonderful time admiring our work, and actually getting to hang out with Ryan Braun! He was a really nice, down to earth guy, and more importantly- he LOVED the work we did for the restaurant. We really couldn't have asked for a better night, and Ryan Braun was even good enough to sign my buss ticket! How's that for an autograph?!


Ryan Bruan, his agent, Nez, and the iNViDiA DESIGN crew are all here enjoying the night!


Of course it wasn't just iNViDiA at the party, our good pal little Jose, the Interior Designer we worked with on the project, is seen in this picture as we ALL imitate Jose's wonderful smile- except for Jose. I guess it looks better on him than it does on us though anyhow- although I'm not sure, dare I say that Aaron pulls it off well?


The motion blur really captures the state of drunkenness we were all in towards the end of the night there at the new RYAN BRAUN'S WATERFRONT. Ken? The camera is over here Ken... Oh well, just smile anyhow.