many feet. In some cases, the detailing is robust, as in the vigorous treatment of leather panels at Craft, where the texture, geometry and scale are counterpoints to the texture, geometry and scale of the historical fabric of terra cotta, brick and iron. In other cases, the detailing is highly refined and minimal as in the material terminations at Club 432 or Craft Los Angeles. In one case, fasteners are revealed, while in others elements are held together magically as though suspended in close proximity. Where exposed, fasteners introduce a finer scale and rhythm within a visual composition. Where hidden, their absence allows the viewer to experience the joining of materials as a synthesis rather than counterpoint, much like a slow reduction of flavors ultimately fused into a singular experience of the palate. Le Bernardin provides an example of surface articulation and its role in defining an interior space. Maguy Le Coze and Eric Ripert wanted to reinvent this venerated restaurant without diminishing its special appeal. They surmised the younger audience that had learned from places such as Gramercy or Craft of a new, less formal dining style that still achieved excellence in food and service might never experience and appreciate the special virtues of their restaurant because of its formality. We responded by proposing casual dining in the bar area with a window open to the adjacent public way. But the restaurant had always had a discrete, internal orientation closed to view from the street. In order to achieve transparency to the exterior without sacrificing entirely the privacy with which the restaurant had been associated, we developed a metal screen consisting of flat bars 3" deep and 3/8" wide on their leading edge. Thinking of the screen in theatrical terms, as a scrim that when illuminated creates the visual illusion of opacity, we called for a matte finish on the opposing interior faces of the fins to trap light and to diminish the potential for distractions from activity outside. Then we polished the narrow face of the fins, causing them to work as a subtle mirror to the activities of the dining room (Figures 11 A,B). Lit from above and below, this fin wall permits the guests to experience activity outside subtly and without competition to the energy of the interior space and passersby to witness that which had previously been secluded.
Figure 11A: Le Bernardin: Concept for bar area with windows to the street shielded by aluminum screens
Figure 11B: Le Bernardin: Bar area with windows to the street shielded by aluminum screens
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