“Shawn cooked for us before we started designing, and it was clear from that moment on that he wanted to create a space to serve exquisitely conceived and executed dishes, but generously and in an environment that felt unpretentious,” Troy Schaum said.
The design for the chef-owned restaurant Camaraderie converts an existing, former residential garage and wood shop into an elevated family-style restaurant. Schaum Architects strove to retain as much of the existing building as possible, reusing almost all of the existing structure, concrete slab, and exterior metal wall panels. Set in The Heights, the 75-seat restaurant is situated within a 1990s corrugated metal building, updated with grey and blue paint. The interior is wrapped in birch wall panels and built-in banquette seating, which warms the space, giving the feeling of dining in a friend’s home.
The kitchen, at the heart of the project, opens like a stage onto the dining room, where guests have an uninterrupted view of chef Shawn Gawle at work. Chef Gawle’s menu has a contemporary American cuisine rooted in French techniques. Most recently, Gawle served as executive pastry chef at Houston’s Goodnight Hospitality and was recently named Best New Pastry Chef by Food & Wine magazine and Rising Star Chef by StarChefs.
Join us for a tour of Camaraderie and a sampling of fare with Troy Schaum of Schaum Architects and Chef Shawn Gawle of Camaraderie.
Camaraderie received an AIA 2025 Design Award for Interior Architecture.
Designed with Taste, an event series from Architecture Center Houston explores Houston’s newest restaurants to examine how design affects the dining experience. Hear about the design inspiration for the spaces, and how it interacts with the culinary offerings. Is the food influenced by the design, or is it the other way around? Enjoy lite bites and cocktails and decide for yourself.
Image courtesy of Leonid Furmansky.
