The Mandarin
Restaurant space created in an existing warehouse space.
Fayetteville, New York
In this group project we had to design a restaurant for a client on a potential, but as yet unconfirmed, site in Fayetteville, New York. The client had specified that she wanted this restaurant to stand out – in terms of its theme – so she was fond of a Miami/ South Beach theme, a Soho, or a Mediterranean theme. We were also given requirements stating that she wanted indoor seating – split between booth and tables – and outdoor seating, a bar with a 30 foot minimum length, which had easy access to storage, an open kitchen, a fireplace and an impressive front door. Space was also needed for cold and dry storage, an office, a kitchen, and two ADA restrooms, all with particular size requirements. The client then had variety of suggestions that she would have liked us to incorporate if appropriate to our theme – such as the use of the colour blue.
Aside from these requirements, we were given complete freedom with the project. As there was no existing building, and no definitive site, we were allowed to design a 3000 square foot building from scratch, making sure that the circulation between spaces – specifically for the efficient flow of staff – was a main priority.
My partner and I chose to use a Mediterranean theme, with a focus on Moroccan design, for our interiors. Our design concept statement was “Focusing on the bar, the restaurant features and open kitchen, a lounge with a fireplace, and an outdoor seating area. The rich and cool colours create a harmonious space in which social interaction is encouraged through fluid circulation and organisation.” We chose wine and orange as our rich colours, and two shades of grey – a light, almost white, shade and a dark, with a hint of blue, shade – as our cooler colours, we also used a wrought iron and brushed nickel for various features, such as furniture and fixtures. Our reasoning behind these choices was that Fayetteville has very long, grey winters, so we needed the bright, rich colours to make the space visually interesting and attractive, but we also needed cooler colours that allowed our richer colours to pop, without making the space look childish but using over-bearing colours. The use of the dark and bright metals was to satisfy the client’s desire for a bar with a more “modern” feel to it.
Our colours to somewhat distinguish the spaces, with the seating using mostly wine, the bar using mostly orange, and the lounge using equal amounts of both colours. The floor was stained concrete, with a diamond polish, to reflect the blue spot lights we had on the bottom of the walls so that the floor did not end up being a generic concrete floor and to bring in some blue for the client. The colour also served to create more of the modern ambience that the client wanted in the space.
In order to bring in the Moroccan flavour, beyond lighting fixtures and use of fabrics on the ceilings, we created a pattern that – like traditional Moroccan patterns – is detailed, however we modernised it to be a series of rectilinear shapes. We used it as an accent of doors, screen, fences, and the bar, the pattern unifies the variety of spaces as it acts like a motif.
Our client also wanted us to develop a basic idea for branding, so we developed a logo and chose the name: ‘The Mandarin’, to reflect the orange in the colour scheme, and so reference the Mediterranean where mandarins are grown.
Aside from these requirements, we were given complete freedom with the project. As there was no existing building, and no definitive site, we were allowed to design a 3000 square foot building from scratch, making sure that the circulation between spaces – specifically for the efficient flow of staff – was a main priority.
My partner and I chose to use a Mediterranean theme, with a focus on Moroccan design, for our interiors. Our design concept statement was “Focusing on the bar, the restaurant features and open kitchen, a lounge with a fireplace, and an outdoor seating area. The rich and cool colours create a harmonious space in which social interaction is encouraged through fluid circulation and organisation.” We chose wine and orange as our rich colours, and two shades of grey – a light, almost white, shade and a dark, with a hint of blue, shade – as our cooler colours, we also used a wrought iron and brushed nickel for various features, such as furniture and fixtures. Our reasoning behind these choices was that Fayetteville has very long, grey winters, so we needed the bright, rich colours to make the space visually interesting and attractive, but we also needed cooler colours that allowed our richer colours to pop, without making the space look childish but using over-bearing colours. The use of the dark and bright metals was to satisfy the client’s desire for a bar with a more “modern” feel to it.
Our colours to somewhat distinguish the spaces, with the seating using mostly wine, the bar using mostly orange, and the lounge using equal amounts of both colours. The floor was stained concrete, with a diamond polish, to reflect the blue spot lights we had on the bottom of the walls so that the floor did not end up being a generic concrete floor and to bring in some blue for the client. The colour also served to create more of the modern ambience that the client wanted in the space.
In order to bring in the Moroccan flavour, beyond lighting fixtures and use of fabrics on the ceilings, we created a pattern that – like traditional Moroccan patterns – is detailed, however we modernised it to be a series of rectilinear shapes. We used it as an accent of doors, screen, fences, and the bar, the pattern unifies the variety of spaces as it acts like a motif.
Our client also wanted us to develop a basic idea for branding, so we developed a logo and chose the name: ‘The Mandarin’, to reflect the orange in the colour scheme, and so reference the Mediterranean where mandarins are grown.
To see more about The Mandarin, please visit co-creator, Stephanie Sartori's portfolio.
Logo
Taking into account how important the front dooris in terms of branding and creating a positive first impression, we chose to use the most unusual part of the door as part of the logo.
Front door
The front door incorporates our full colour scheme. There is a setof stained glass pieces (wine, orange, and light grey) supported by the doorframe that are organised like out pattern. These same pieces have been used onthe frames of the side windows and on the clerestory window above the door. Thedoor itself has another layer in the door frame made of wrought iron that formsthe pattern at a larger scale - acting as decor and as safety gate.
Indoor seating
Booth seating
The booths have screen between them and smaller screen on theexposed side of the seating for privacy. These screens are made of wrought ironand are designed to incorporate our pattern. This pattern can also be seen onthe table leg and on the framing around the storage niches, made of wroughtiron, and on the pendant lighting above the table, made of wrought iron andstained glass.
There is fabric hung above the entire seating area - to give a moreMoroccan ‘tent’ feel to space, and there are shear curtains on the booths thatcan be closed to give the occupants a little more privacy.
The table has a wrought iron frame, and has a detail of mosaic tileson the rim utilizing wine coloured tiles with accents of light grey.
There is fabric hung above the entire seating area - to give a moreMoroccan ‘tent’ feel to space, and there are shear curtains on the booths thatcan be closed to give the occupants a little more privacy.
The table has a wrought iron frame, and has a detail of mosaic tileson the rim utilizing wine coloured tiles with accents of light grey.
Firelace with Lounge seating
The fireplace, being a focal point of the space, also incorporatesour full colour scheme. The fireplace itself is a Bioethanol Burner fromEcosmart Fire (TM). It has been set in a frame which allows it to be viewedfrom three sides - two inside and one outside from the porch.
Behind and above the fireplace there are mosaic tiles that are wine,orange, and nickel to reflect out the light of the fire. The volumes above andbelow the fireplace are light grey mosaic tiles with a wrought iron patternover them.
The wall adjacent to the fireplace has small niches in the wallswith candles in them and a patterned screen over them - these are similar tothe votives on the tables.
The fireplace has been raised up so that it can be seen fromeverywhere in the seating area of the restaurant. Surrounding the fireplacethere is lounge seating that is just above floor level to imitate traditionalMoroccan seating.
Behind and above the fireplace there are mosaic tiles that are wine,orange, and nickel to reflect out the light of the fire. The volumes above andbelow the fireplace are light grey mosaic tiles with a wrought iron patternover them.
The wall adjacent to the fireplace has small niches in the wallswith candles in them and a patterned screen over them - these are similar tothe votives on the tables.
The fireplace has been raised up so that it can be seen fromeverywhere in the seating area of the restaurant. Surrounding the fireplacethere is lounge seating that is just above floor level to imitate traditionalMoroccan seating.
Bar
The bar area has metal ceiling tiles so that can be distinguished asa different area from the rest of the restaurant without needing a physicalpartition. Part of the countertop extends outside the building onto the patioso that people can enjoy the use of the bar when the weather permits. There arewindows that open up to allow the bartender to access the outdoor bar.
The shelves of the liquor rack are constructed to look like thepattern we have chosen, allowing bottle to fit in the negative space created bythe pattern. The rack would be finished with a matte black lacquer and kept aspart of the shelving system behind the bar. The bar would have a similarcomposition except the rack would be made of a clear acrylic so that the bar areadoes not look to aesthetically heavy. The variety of colours from the alcoholbottles in the racks are part of the aesthetic in this area, and can be seen inthe countertop which is made of recycled crushed glass.
The shelves of the liquor rack are constructed to look like thepattern we have chosen, allowing bottle to fit in the negative space created bythe pattern. The rack would be finished with a matte black lacquer and kept aspart of the shelving system behind the bar. The bar would have a similarcomposition except the rack would be made of a clear acrylic so that the bar areadoes not look to aesthetically heavy. The variety of colours from the alcoholbottles in the racks are part of the aesthetic in this area, and can be seen inthe countertop which is made of recycled crushed glass.
Outdoor seating
The outdoor seating is surrounded by a wooden post structure withfences – which incorporate the pattern. To soften the look of the structure,there are swaths of shear fabric – coloured wine and orange – which flowbetween the posts. These also help tie together the exterior seating area withthe interior seating area – where there is fabric on the ceiling. From theoutside, customers can still enjoy the main features of the fireplace and thebar so that sitting outside does not result in not being able to enjoyeverything the restaurant has to offer.
Exterior
Rendered Floor Plan
