Outdoor Dining Pavilion (NYC)
Type: Outdoor Dining Structure
Program: Hospitality / Food & Beverage
Location: Soho, NY
Area: Varies
Calendar: 2021
Outdoor Dining Pavillion: The scope of the project was to build an outdoor dining pavilion. Re-a.d to handle the research, design, documentation, bidding and project management of the entire project.
It was our objective to create a design that is resilient, easily transportable and to have customizable cladding. Our design team opted for re-usable steel to support the initial objective as well as creating a modular design. Through this innovative design and material choice, the pavilion is easily re-cladded and customized based on the aesthetic requests of the restaurant. It is meant to be affordable and accessible by every restaurant in the city. The use of steel vs. lumber also contributes to minimizing waste by extending the lifespan of the pavilion and using a re-usable material. The modular system brings a possibility to grow by attaching and combining two or more steel structures.
With this resilient design, Re-a.d was able to implement a rainwater harvesting system onto the pavilion in collaboration with the artist Allison Newsome. Named “rainkeep”, the flower sculpture blooming on the streets of Soho does not only shine as an eye-catching art installation but also catches rainwater and stores it in the recycled aluminum tank connected to the flower sculpture. This water is later used to water the plants on the pavilion, establishing a self-sustainable system. The entire system contributes to decreasing flash flooding in the streets of New York. This self-sustained system also contributes to easy care of the plants on the pavilion.
For the Re-a.d team, this project was a proof of concept that the changes Outdoor Dining Program can bring to the streets of New York. Re-a.d’s team took on this challenge completely pro bono, including sourcing the materials and eventually building all of the cladding for the pavilion ourselves. It was very important for us to create a design that can be adapted to any restaurant and to be affordable while being sustainable. Through the implementations of this customizable design to other restaurants, the outdoor Dining Program can serve as a green network across the city.