Building Design Construction

hospitality facilities
BUILDING TRENDS ANALYSIS
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A spaceship-like Italian
chandelier hovers over
the dining area in Carbone
restaurant in Las Vegas.
Bergman Walls & Associates
was the architect, Ken Fulk
the designer, Forte Specialty
Contractors the GC.
opened last October in the Aria casino-hotel
complex in Las Vegas. The client originally
wanted its main dining area to include a
chandelier suspended from a dome with
acoustical panels and gold leafi ng. But to
achieve the desired sound transmission
class rating, Forté, the project GC, lined the
dome with a perforated stretch ceiling material
(Barrisol), which helped prevent diners
from hearing each others’ conversations and
maintained the dome’s intended shimmer.
5. Artwork can enhance the element of
surprise.
While dining out might not be the special
occasion it once was, people “still want to
be wowed when they eat out,” says Alvarez.
So, restaurateurs are incorporating more art
into their venues to meet the expectations of
their patrons, particularly Millennials.
Charles Doell, who owns Mister Important
Design, a design boutique in Oakland, has
been hiring well-known street artists to develop
murals for its restaurant clients. These
include the Australian artist Tyrone Wright
(aka Rone); Ben Watts, a English fashion
photographer known for his gritty New York
street-life images; Marco Battiglini, an Italian
specializing in hip-hop versions of classical
paintings; and the Australian graffi ti artist
Hush, whose work has an Asian infl ection (he
was once a toy designer in Japan).
The inclusion of art adds to a restaurant’s
sense of place and authenticity. McCormack
points to Tap, a 9,500-sf bar and restaurant
he designed for the MGM Grand casino, in
Detroit, into which he sprinkled local memorabilia
that his fi rm purchased from an old pub
owner who had collected and kept this stuff
for decades. McCormack thinks this concept
could be adapted for other markets.
Art and bold colors can sometimes present
design dilemmas. Lallement says Gensler
is working with a restaurateur who favors
“whimsical” art, “like a six-foot rooster.” So
Gensler “creates a neutral canvas that can be
an elegant backdrop to the art,” she says. +
FORTÉ SPECIALTY CONTRACTORS
Scott Acton, CEO
Forté Specialty Contractors
Las Vegas, Nev.
Mariela Alvarez, Designer
iCrave
New York, N.Y.
Beau Arnason, EVP/Asset Manager
Steiner + Associates
Columbus, Ohio
Charles Doell, Principal
Mister Important Design
Oakland, Calif.
Charlie Dusenberry, CEO/President
ICS Restaurant Builders
Fallbrook, Calif.
Mark Eclipse, AIA, LEED AP, Principal
Prellwitz Chilinski Associates
Cambridge, Mass.
Gregory Gatserelia, Partner
Gatserelia Design
Beirut, Lebanon
Kimoy Lallement, AIA, LEED AP,
Design Manager
Gensler
Washington, D.C.
Rick McCormack, Principal
Studio McCormack
Costa Mesa, Calif.
Mike Murphy, Managing Director
M.J. Murphy Ltd.
Auckland, New Zealand
Matt Nicholson, Business Development
Manager
Turner Construction Co.
Nashville, Tenn.
Andrew Schulman, SVP of Leasing/N.A.
McArthurGlen Group
New York, N.Y.
Tom Rogers, Director
Community and Economic Development
Mill Creek, Wash.
BRANCHING OUT IN RESTAURANT STYLING
The food court is no longer the only dining option for outlet shoppers. “Today,
outlet centers offer many more alternatives for dining, including sit-down restaurants
that serve high-quality food,” Andrew Schulman, SVP of Leasing for North
America with McArthurGlen Group, an outlet mall developer, told rebusinessonline.com.
In Torrance, Calif., the recently renovated and expanded Del Amo Fashion Center
added four semi-detached restaurant pads. Tenants include Frida, an 8,800-sf Mexican
restaurant whose colorful concept was devised by chef Vicente Del Rio, Founder of Frimax
Hospitality Group. Charlie Dusenberry, CEO and President of ICS Restaurant Builders,
the GC on this project, says Frida provides power stations for recharging mobile
devices at each of its booths and along its bar. A 68-foot-long sliding glass door opens
onto the patio. ICS will install a rollback roof this summer.
68 MAY 2016 BUILDING DESIGN+CONSTRUCTION www.BDCnetwork.com