Gramercy Tavern New York, New York
The first all-new restaurant the Bentel firm designed for the trend-setting restaurateur Danny Meyer, Gramercy Tavern marries the genteel traditions of the Gramercy Park neighborhood with the owners' modern concepts of food and drink service. By taking the historic tavern as their inspiration, the architects have installed a series of architectural episodes within a gracefully aged industrial building, reconciling the apparent opposites of the rustic and the refined, the bucolic and the urbane. The design also had to reconcile the extra-tall first story of its century-old structure with a need for intimate dining spaces. The ample volume was used to advantage in the bar area just inside the entrance, which is exposed to the street through tall glazing. The scale of the restaurant was then reduced toward the rear for the more intimate dining areas — none more than three tables across. For some of these spaces, non-structural piers have been inserted between the building's widely spaced columns to establish the desired scale. In much of the restaurant, the tall ceilings are crossed by dark wood beams — also non-structural — moderating scale, adding texture, and helping to conceal necessities such as lighting, sprinklers, and air diffusers. The Tavern's entire interior is firmly related to its stately old facade by extending the horizontal band of the transoms above its windows and doors throughout the interior. In the up-front bar area, this band is occupied by the mural "Cornucopia" by Robert Kushner, playfully representing fruits and vegetables. In the several distinct dining areas beyond, this same zone accommodates a series of arches and vaults. Just inside the entry, the restaurant provides a welcome alcove of comfortable seating for those who may have to — or choose to — wait before proceeding to their tables. The tavern-like character of the bar area is underscored by the use of varied furniture, looking as if it were accumulated over a long period. An open wood grill at one corner of this area can offer patrons the sight and scents of actual cooking. The curve of the long bar itself is functionally effective for servers, while reinforcing the sense of conviviality among those seated there. The rearmost portions of the restaurant, including its private dining room, extend into what was originally a lean-to addition to the building's first floor, with a low, sloping roof. Here, the architects reconfigured ceilings to peak over the rooms, recalling the interiors of rural outbuildings. In rooms such as these, one feels far removed from contemporary Manhattan while enjoying some of its most up-to-the-moment dining pleasures.
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