Modmarket snags two American Institute of Architecture awards

Photos: Raul J. Garcia

​After being pleasantly surprised to be nominated at all for a prestigious American Institute of Architecture's Los Angeles Chapter, restaurant design award, Boulder sandwich shop Modmarket was thrilled to walk away last week with not one but two cafe design awards: people's choice and the jury prize (which it shares with Venice, California restaurant Intelligentsia).

"Usually, cutting edge architecture is not in Colorado," deadpans co-owner Anthony Pigliacampo, noting the restaurant's location -- "in a strip mall, no less" -- makes the awards that much more of a coup. Pigliacampo says he's pretty sure no other Colorado restaurant has even been nominated for an AIA award, let alone won it.

​The awards are typically bestowed on design work coming out of cities on the coasts.

"It just shows that a we have a lot of support," he says, referring specifically to the people's choice award, which was put to a public vote earlier this month.

The open space and stark, white and chrome design is a product of the vision and handiwork of Denver's Roth + Sheppard Architects.

​"Since its inception, we've thought we had done a pretty good job on the design," says Pigliacampo. "Our focus was to create a fast casual restaurant that didn't look like anything else. We wanted to make something a little more distinct."

"We had the idea of a completely open kitchen," Pigliacampo explains.

​"Then we came up with the concept of two pods -- a kitchen pod and a customer pod -- and they kind of overlap and join together. It makes for a cool visual effect. The space is kind of long and tunnel-like ... It's kind of like being in an actual kitchen."

To celebrate the awards, Modmarket's throwing a party next Saturday, July 10, from 8 to 10 p.m., with free pizza and $1 beers and glasses of wine. For more information call 720-663-9440.