Arlington, VA
Project Details
Client:
Alexandria Restaurant Partners. LLC
Design Team:
Beckmann Architects
Project Type:
Restaurant
Size:
6,000 SF
Description
Wrapped in the original Art Deco building from 1943, the interior of Palette 22 has been designed to look like an industrial artist’s studio. While enjoying their meals, patrons can watch as local artists create different mediums of art and pieces can be purchased right off the walls. The architecture and interior design of Palette 22 bring together industrial elements, as well as a mid-century modern aesthetic, the feel of an artist’s studio, and an open display kitchen in a late Art Deco base building. The architects chose simple materials to help define the spaces, using vibrantly painted surfaces, polished concrete floors, steel fixtures, and inventive uses of metals and plywood to set the stage for the food and the art.
The 6,000 SF restaurant fit-out started with the substantial demolition of an existing restaurant space; unraveling and correcting layers of preexisting conditions proved challenging. The restaurant consisted of two different dining levels where our team needed to perform numerous structural repairs, installation of new sanitary lines in the occupied tenant space below, as well as pour a new slab in the upper dining area to maintain the design aesthetic while bringing the space up to code. The team also had to contend with busy pedestrian walk ways and mature vegetation when installing roof top equipment and building façade finishes. The interior received a blend of contemporary and industrial finishes which required clever custom fabrication of several common materials used in uncommon ways.