Case Study

The Brasserie

Introduction

Few destinations have so many extra ordinary dining opportunities as those found in Manhattan. World travelers know anyone can eat practically anything at any hour in New York City. So millions of gourmands around the world were stunned when Manhattan temporarily lost one of its favorite haunts, The Brasserie.

Case Study

Located in the Seagram Building, the famous and popular bistro, originally designed by Philip Johnson, suffered a disastrous fire several years ago. Late-night theater goers and jet-lagged trans-Atlantic passengers had to wait patiently for the revolving Brasserie door to spin open again.

What the majority of diners never considered, however, was how much the world of design had changed since the restaurant first opened four decades ago. Equally important, The Brasserie is located in the same prestigious building as another landmark restaurant, The Four Seasons. So while diners imagined that this favorite eatery would bounce back in a few months, redesigning any aspect of Seagram space meant having to consider the important legacy looming above.

Gel seats in the bar and the aluminum honeycomb laminated wall panels are two examples of innovative materials from Material ConneXion's library that matched the unusual creative requirements of this world-class bistro.

Conclusion

Material ConneXion was pleased to play a role in bringing back this popular bistro. Contacted by Diller + Scofidio, the architecture firm that led the design team, Material ConneXion arranged for their researchers to explore a wide swath of materials that would fulfill the disparate creative challenges inherent to this dining icon.