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Arch2O.com - Architecture & Design Magazine
Located in the old Penny Savings Bank, Banq is a restaurant located at the base of the old banking hall. Divided into two segments, the front area on Washington Street is programmed as a bar, while the larger hall behind serves as the dining area. The design of the space, however, is conceptualized around another division, on the z axis, between the ceiling and the ground. If the ground needs to remain flexible as a result of fluctuating activities of the restaurant space- two seaters, fours, and sixes, among a range of other organizations related to parties and other events– then, the ceiling contains fixed programs that are part of the building’s infrastructure-the structure, drainage, mechanical equipment, sprinkler system, lighting, and other the acoustic systems. Courtesy of Office dA – Photographs : John Horner
To that end, we have developed a striated wood-slatted system that conceals the view of the mechanical, plumbing, and lighting systems on the longitudinal axis, while offering a virtual canopy under which to dine. The geometry of the wood slats conform to each equipment above, but are also radiused in order to smoothen the relationship between other adjoining equipment, creating a seamless landscape.
Courtesy of Office dA – Model
The columns and the wine storage, in the middle of the hall, serve to uphold the fiction, and appear to be suspended from the ceiling. if the longitudi...