May 2011 - Illuminating Engineering Society

PARX GRILL
Interior architecture and lighting for U.S. steakhouses have been
visually predictable since the introduction of the genre in chain
format or in the occasional regional specialty restaurant. Some
destinations are decidedly upscale, often with a preponderance
of dark woods, deep-tone leather and functional lighting that gives
the space a British men’s club overtone. Mid- and popular-priced
steakhouses often take their theme from expanded roadside eateries,
informal and using a design vernacular in keeping with their locales.
For the Parx Grill, the 5,000-sq ft, top-of-the-line steakhouse within
the Parx Casino, the owners had in mind a jewel box of a dining destination.
“The client did want to retain features such as dark woods,
leather, wine display and a fireplace, but with a contemporary spin,”
says architect Richard Mark, interior design principal at the Philadelphia
office of KlingStubbins. The casino was clear about wanting a
dining environment with clean modern lines and contemporary finishes
that could hold its own in any upscale urban commercial district.
Located on the same site as the former Philadelphia Park racetrack
in Bensalem, PA, bordering the Philadelphia city line, Parx Casino
draws from a 30-mile radius, a mixed urban/suburban market. When
it was time to plan for the Parx Grill, “The ultimate design goal of the
Grill’s management was a steakhouse that communicates the image
of an oasis within the busy milieu of the casino’s machines and gam-
Parx Grill’s contemporary approach to the
traditional steakhouse interior intermixes
lighting with sculptural architectural forms
at a Philadelphia-area casino
BY VILMA BARR
Steakhouse
Well Done
The
Photos: Jeffrey Totaro
entry of the restaurant includes several design flourishes. MR16
entry frame behind is uplighted by the same in-floor fixtures.
86 May 2011 | LD+A www.ies.org