Josh Greenspan's newly opened 'VV's Cocktail Room' in New York City uses floor-to-ceiling USM panels to give cocktail drinkers a distinct setting in a small bar. The panels continue across the bar front, making the material itself the room's main visual identity and linking the venue to Swiss furniture maker USM.
Inside the 400-square-foot room, set within a 21-story residential building, Greenspan pairs the modular wall system with a glass-block entry, burgundy seating and a walnut counter. An overhead fixture shaped like Japanese lanterns draws cues from cocktail omakase spaces Greenspan visited in Hong Kong and Tokyo, supporting the room's 1980s tone.
USM panels carried across the walls and bar front turn a compact venue into an identity cue for hospitality operators working with limited square footage. The 400-square-foot layout shows how one repeatable material can set the mood without filling the room with extra objects.
Image Credit: Josh Greenspan/Marco Galloway
What Makes This Trend Stand Out
- Modular Hospitality Interiors
- Compact venues gain a flexible brand language through repeatable wall systems that merge spatial efficiency with a strong visual signature.
- Material-led Branding
- Distinctive surfaces function as immersive identity tools, allowing hospitality spaces to communicate affiliation, mood and exclusivity without traditional signage.
- Micro-venue Design
- Small-format bars and restaurants are redefining premium experiences through concentrated layouts where every architectural element carries aesthetic and operational value.
Sectors Adopting This
- Hospitality Design
- Design firms can explore modular systems as high-impact solutions for creating memorable guest environments within constrained urban footprints.
- Furniture Manufacturing
- Furniture makers have opportunities to extend modular products beyond offices and homes into experiential commercial interiors that serve as brand-defining infrastructure.
- Food and Beverage
- Bar operators and restaurateurs can differentiate compact concepts through immersive material palettes that make limited square footage feel intentional and premium.
