Pinch Food Design x USM: Food Form Function

For NYCxDESIGN 2026, Pinch Food Design partnered with USM Modular Furniture to create Food Form Function, a month-long installation that transformed the SoHo flagship showroom into an immersive culinary environment.

The collaboration explored a shared question:

What happens when furniture does more than hold food and begins to participate in serving it?

Bringing together USM’s modular design system and Pinch’s signature approach to experiential hospitality, the project reimagined the showroom as a living landscape of food, movement, interaction, and performance.

At the heart of Food Form Function was the idea of transformation through use.

Rather than treating the showroom as a static exhibition space, Pinch and USM approached it as an evolving environment where visitors could interact, discover, taste, and move through installations.

The showroom became a culinary playground where objects shifted roles:

• A credenza became a cocktail fountain.

• Drawers concealed desserts.

• Shelving evolved into rotating displays.

• Furniture moved from architecture into hospitality.

The installation invited visitors to rethink not only how food is served, but how design itself can participate in the experience.

Pinch and USM co-created seven bespoke installations, each developed specifically for the exhibition.

1) The Drawer Wall

A traditional drawer unit became an interactive dessert display.

Guests opened compartments to discover hidden sweets, turning service into a moment of exploration and surprise.

2) The Monochromatic Tart Display

USM shelving transformed into a rotating presentation structure displaying a ten-foot tart in full 360-degree view.

Inspired by the movement of a Lazy Susan, the installation elevated presentation into performance.

3) Cocktail Fountain

Pinch’s signature Cocktail Fountain was integrated into a USM base for the first time.

The piece simultaneously:

• Served cocktails

• Chilled beverages

• Functioned as a sculptural centerpiece

• Demonstrated how hospitality infrastructure could merge directly with furniture

4) Pour Over Bar

Tiered USM structures supported beverage preparation and cascading infusions, revealing each drink’s transformation from ingredient to final pour.

5) The Cloches Pop-Up

The Cloche Carts bring choreography to the act of service. Mounted on mobile USM carts, each piece moves fluidly from kitchen to crowd, transforming into a moment of reveal. As the cloche lifts, smoke escapes to unveil the bites beneath, turning service into an experience and bringing the kitchen to the center of the room.

6) The Wine Balloons

The Wine Balloons transform decanting into a sculptural, modular experience. Suspended within individual USM frames, each glass balloon holds the equivalent of five bottles, elevating both the scale and visibility of the process. As the wine settles and opens, subtle shifts in color emerge, inviting guests to gather around the piece while reflecting USM’s modular philosophy.

7) The Suspension Interaction

This interaction reimagines the buffet by shifting service from a horizontal spread to a vertical experience. Guests encounter suspended bites designed to be unhooked, turning service into an interactive moment.

Food Form Function transformed the USM SoHo showroom into a month-long experiential environment during NYCxDESIGN Week, inviting visitors to engage with food, furniture, and hospitality in unexpected ways.

The collaboration demonstrated that:

• Furniture can become service infrastructure

• Hospitality can function as design

• Culinary experiences can shape how spaces are experienced

• Modularity can extend beyond objects into interaction

The result was not simply an exhibition.

It was an exploration of how food and furniture can co-exist as one design language.