Sartre

Restaurant in a Brewery

This project was the insertion of a restaurant into a vacant portion of a Cincinnati brewery. In direct contrast to the deliberately unrefined beer hall already on site, the restaurant was proposed as a polished, intimate and calm space that would incorporate and enhance the architectural elements of the building.
New windows open the space to the street for the first time in decades, existing obscured windows along an alley were retained and repaired. Brick walls were repaired and left exposed and the concrete and plaster vaulted ceiling system was exposed and highlighted with custom lighting. 

The hard surfaces of the shell are counterbalanced by selectively located soffits, which distribute heating and cooling and, more importantly, are faced with sound absorbing fabric-clad panels. These soffits are punctuated by plaster domes which hold custom designed light fixtures, allowing for an even, soft lighting.  

A playfully operable glass wall between the casual and formal sides of the space takes its cues from the glazing of the existing windows, but with attenuated proportions. Highly ornamental, salvaged fixtures were used whenever possible and include the bar, pocket doors, pendant lights and several pieces of furniture.  Elements and finishes such as a wood wainscot, a rubbed brass back-bar, leather banquettes with brass detailing, and walls of venetian plaster continue the contrast between old and new, raw and finished.