ICrave, in the words of Ohayon, is a studio of “big moves,” and, at 53, this manifests in some three dozen giant curving fins that span the full width of the restaurant. Looking in from the sidewalk at 53, a two-level Asian-fusion restaurant in Midtown by ICrave, dozens of fins edged in aluminum, the powder-coat colors lifted from the Nine-Dragon Wall reliefs found in Chinese imperial palaces, cascade from street level to the subterranean dining room. However, given the proximity to a world-famous contemporary art museum, the ICrave team decided to approach the project not as interior design, but as sculpture or a painting. Jean Nouvel’s angular beams enable wide column-free expanses, while allowing for the creation of a sequence of intimate dining areas “framed to feel like part of the building,” Ohayon notes. The restaurant’s 11,000 square feet are divided across two spaces: the street-level bistro and the subterranean main dining room. Its prime location is nestled at the base of Ateliers Jean Nouvel’s 53 West 53, a much-publicized residential tower that rises 82 stories into the Manhattan skyline as a series of carbon-gray shards, and accommodates part of the recent expansion of the adjoining Museum of Modern Art. That’s exactly what ICrave, where Ohayon is founder and CEO, intended for 53, an already buzzy Midtown restaurant developed by Altamarea Group and helmed by Singaporean chef Akmal Anuar. It’s so much to do with the entire package.” “They’re the enduring restaurants that have lasted forever, and people just know that they want to spend time in them. “What are yummy rooms?” he asks rhetorically. Rather, it’s the entire experience that comes from carefully combining lighting, acoustics, materiality, layout, visual impact, and a sense of discovery, together compelling diners to return time and again. The designer isn’t simply referring to the food, however. A Hip, New Restaurant Next to MoMA Offers Diners a Feast for the EyesĪ successful restaurant in New York must be “yummy,” according to Lionel Ohayon.
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