Sunday, August 16, 2009

SHO Shaun Hergatt TIME

Robert D. Henry Architects just finished the latest SHO Shaun Hergatt restaurant at 40 Broad Street in Manhattan, New York. The restaurant aims to ¡°touch on all of the five senses¡± to create a full dining experience. ¡°The more our senses are engaged synchronistically, the more powerful our experience; this viewpoint shapes everything we do now,¡± explained Henry.

“In our design for SHO and the mystical ambiance surrounding the Setai brand, we set out to create an intoxicating experiential journey, an ‘emotional architecture’ that wakens the senses,” Henry stated.

Guests pass through the building’s three-story façade by way of intimate entry portals of warming colors reminiscent of the Asian tradition. The granite and stonework floor “create a textural contrast” as diners enter the lobby area.

Sculptural elements and detailed latticework embellish the dining spaces that are furnished with luxurious components such as the Brazilian walnut bar and silk wall panels. The restaurant’s five distinct dining environments are arranged as a sequence users must pass through to “play with volume to evoke intimacy and grandeur, amplifying a sense of approach that culminates in the dining experience.”

Guests dine informally around an infinity-edge pool that creates “a peaceful spa-like ambiance, as reflections from its floating candles play upon the ceiling and a gentle cascade of water provides a soothing soundscape.”

The interior space opens to reveal the main “dining cube,” which seats up to 16 guests. In the cube, diners “can fully savor the presence of their companions and the taste, texture and smell of the food.” A wall of golden glass, gradated from opaque to translucent, “offers the personal connection” into the kitchen as diners may catch a glimpse of the chefs at work.

In a few months, the Setai spa is set to open which will include a rooftop lounge, lobby and new façade all designed by Robert D. Henry Architects.

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