![Sumo Pizza by Buro Koray Duman](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2021/11/sumo-pizza-buro-koray-duman-interiors-usa-hero-852x479.jpg)
Neapolitan culture informs design of Manhattan’s SIMÒ Pizza by Büro Koray Duman
An open kitchen and shelving made of Italian volcanic stone feature in a Greenwich Village pizzeria designed by architecture firm Büro Koray Duman.
SIMÒ Pizza was started in 2018 by the Naples-born chef Simone Falco and offers Neapolitan pizza and other fare made with high-quality ingredients. This is the eatery's second location, the other being in the Meatpacking District in New York City.
![Open kitchen at SIMÒ](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2021/11/sumo-pizza-buro-koray-duman-interiors-usa_dezeen_2364_col_0-852x568.jpg)
Situated on University Place, the new shop occupies the ground floor of a 19th-century building that once housed the famed Hotel Albert. The rectangular space totals 1,400 square feet (130 square metres).
Büro Koray Duman – which has offices in Manhattan and Istanbul – aimed to design a space that celebrates historic New York and Naples, while also embodying SIMÒ's mission to be an authentic and affordable pizzeria. The design is meant to be both sophisticated and welcoming.
![Patterned wallpaper](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2021/11/sumo-pizza-buro-koray-duman-interiors-usa_dezeen_2364_col_4-852x568.jpg)
"The design centres around three concepts: cooking as performance, pattern as heritage, and the piazza as social space," the firm said.
A glazed wall offers views into the bright and airy shop. At the front, the team placed an open kitchen that was inspired by the traditional outdoor kiosks found in Naples.
![Green marble chef's counter](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2021/11/sumo-pizza-buro-koray-duman-interiors-usa_dezeen_2364_col_5-852x568.jpg)
"Opening the view to the preparation of food offers diners a chance to engage in the performance of cooking," the architects said.
"A diagonal grid of strung lights illuminates the kitchen, further amplifying the reference to courtyard social spaces."
![Volcanic stone shelving at SIMÒ](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2021/11/sumo-pizza-buro-koray-duman-interiors-usa_dezeen_2364_col_8-852x1065.jpg)
The cooking area is partly enclosed by milled-wood walls with a geometric motif based on SIMÒ's logo. A chef's counter is topped with Italian green marble.
Opposite the kitchen is tall shelving made of volcanic stone from Naples – a material typically used for building facades.
"The three-dimensional, angled pattern of the shelving adds a textural layer to the space," the team said.
Additional texture is provided by the eatery's tin ceiling and mosaic tile flooring, both of which are original to the space.
![Caputo flour graphic wallpaper](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2021/11/sumo-pizza-buro-koray-duman-interiors-usa_dezeen_2364_col_2-852x568.jpg)
Beyond the kitchen is the dining area, where one finds banquette seating constructed of birch plywood. Colourful wallpaper with a Caputo flour graphic lends an intimate feel to the space.
More seating is provided outdoors, where round cedar tables are surrounded by pots of Mediterranean plants and herbs.
![Greenwich Village pizzeria](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2021/11/sumo-pizza-buro-koray-duman-interiors-usa_dezeen_2364_col_10-852x568.jpg)
Büro Koray Duman has completed a variety of projects in New York and beyond, including a Williamsburg apartment with staggered bookshelves and a West Village eatery with a three-dimensional lattice made of stained poplar.
The photography is by Blaine Davis.