Recess

60, University Place, Manhattan, New York, NY, United States

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Recess

60, University Place, Manhattan, New York, NY, United States

Firm

Type

Commercial › Retail
Hospitality + Sport › Restaurant

YEAR

2009

Fabricated with rapidly renewable and recycled materials, this location is the first ‘prototype’ for Recess. It is a new culinary venture, employing the themes of playground, escape and health and it is geared towards urbanites and students alike.The design environment creates an intimate relation for its customers. It engages the physical habitation of the spaces by ergonomically adapting to the activities of ordering and consuming, enabling customers to both lean and sit on its surfaces. It also engages the sensorial habitation through an interplay of light and reflection to create different moods responding to music, seasons and times of the day.The space is divided horizontally. The lower half is a patterned surface of “plyboo” – a rapidly renewable laminated bamboo composite – that constructs a figurative landscape of lean-to-walls, tables, counters and benches. The upper half - built out of fabric and recycled metal- configures a field that sets a mutable backdrop for different activities.