USM Haller Modules Build an Entire Cocktail Room in Manhattan

Restaurateur Josh Greenspan and Swiss furniture company USM have completed VV's Cocktail Room, an 18-seat bar in Manhattan's Chelsea wrapped almost entirely in Steel Blue USM Haller modular shelving.

The venue, named after Greenspan's daughter Vivienne, seats just 18 guests to mimic the intimacy of an omakase cocktail experience, in which bartenders lead a multi-course tasting or cocktail menu. The design draws on Greenspan's visits to Japan and Hong Kong.

"I started imagining something a little wild – a space built entirely from the USM system, pushing its modularity in unexpected ways," Greenspan told Dezeen. "I'm thrilled that the USM team embraced the idea and came along for the ride."

What does the project change for USM?

The collaboration pushes the Haller System beyond furniture into full spatial design. Greenspan worked with USM's director of architectural development, Ian Mutschelkanus, to make the system serve as "the architectural framework of the space" rather than simply being inserted.

"Rather than furnishing the interiors, USM defines them," said the team. "Each composition of the modular system demonstrates its remarkable versatility beyond furniture and into the realm of spatial design."

Inside the space

Visitors pass a glass block wall partition to enter. Inside, navy blue USM panels form the surrounding walls and wrap behind the bar, where they jut out into shelving. The interior details include:

• Dark walnut wood for the bar top and tables
• Bar seats upholstered in burgundy fabric
• Banquette seating built by Greenspan's father, Michael Greenspan, in a similar hue
• A wavy pendant light by New York lighting studio Studio Kawabi spanning the length of the bar
• A painting by Japanese artist Keita Morimoto on the back wall

The team said the space was informed by the "visual language" of Tokyo and Hong Kong and aims for the futuristic aesthetic of the two metropolises between the 1960s and 1990s.

The programme and the family behind it

Greenspan partnered with James Beard Award-winning bartender Neal Bodenheimer and longtime friend Vincent Favela on the omakase cocktail program. His mother, five-time James Beard Award winner Dorie Greenspan, created the bar snack menu.

USM has previously used its panels for walls in retail space for Coperni in Paris, and the company frequently collaborates with designers on installations using the flexible panelling system. VV's Cocktail Room joins a crop of recent New York bars, including Odd Ball by House Under Magic and a second Brooklyn location for Million Goods designed by Gjergji Shkurti.

The photography is by Marco Galloway. With VV's, USM now has its most complete demonstration in a hospitality setting that the Haller System can carry an entire room — walls, bar and shelving — on its own.

By Marcus Bennett