NEWH - June 2009 - (Page 40)

project TD Banknorth Garden Banking on Design A new winning look for Celtics’ stadium By Alia Akkam Photography by Warren Jagger SEEING A CELTICS GAME AT BOSTON’S SPRAWLING TD Banknorth Garden has just gotten swankier. Banners Harbor View, the fine dining restaurant open to premium ticket holders, underwent a major renovation last October, and upscale clientele finally have a place to linger other than concession stands and liquor brandsponsored lounges. Now, thanks to the $4 million redo, there’s five new premium club hospitality and seating areas: private luxury seating areas, the Lofts; lounge and raw bar, Club Lounge; corporate event suite overlooking the bowl, the Executive View; reinvented and relocated Banner’s restaurant, Banner’s Harbor View; and function room, the Partners Room. “It was this really desolate restaurant with a sea of tables and chairs,” recalls Harry Wheeler, principal of Boston-based Group One Partners, Inc., the company hired to reconfigure the space and dream up an appealing new concept. “They didn’t even use it during game time,” points out Carrie Nielsen, an associate at the firm. With a short lead-time to complete the project (six months overall, six weeks to take care of all purchasing), the designers certainly faced design challenges. “We had low ceilings to begin with and we had to rework the mechanical aspects and plumbing,” adds Nielsen. To transform the 9,000-square-foot venue, including an outside entrance area, into an intimate one, the team downsized restaurant seating from 250 to 65 and instilled a posh lounge feel. The semi-private “Lofts,” overlooking the arena, with banquettes and stainless steel accents, are now the most coveted seats in the house. “That was a major revenue driver for the space. It was the catalyst for the whole design,” says Wheeler. Now, a pinwheel burgundy and black terrazzo floor dramatically beckons in the entry. Inside, a 30-foot bar is topped with black quartz and rich zebra wood sets a soothing tone. Millwork figured prominently into the design scheme, with 60 percent of the costs devoted to it. “Overall, our goal was to create a venue they didn’t already have,” explains Wheeler. “A high energy bar was our vision, a luxury club that becomes a meeting point before, during, and after the game.” A highlight of the space? A 14-foot installation by artist Georgia James Clarke that lines seating. “Nielsen contacted me as they were interested in one of my ‘reflective series’ pieces,” Clarke explains. “As design elements so often evolve, the owners became more interested in something locally themed and the Zakim Bridge was mentioned.” The result is a collage of architectural images of the bridge that Clarke manipulated and transferred onto canvas via an inkjet process. > 40 june 2009 www.newh.org tel 800.593.NEWH http://www.newh.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NEWH - June 2009

NEWH - June 2009
Contents
News
Have you Seen?
Product Know-How: Lighting
Design 101
On the Scene
Sustainability: POV
Sustainability: Green Award
Sustainability: Competition
Cover Story: Magic Carpet Ride
Project: TD Banknorth Garden
Project: Ajax and Sneaky’s
New Members
Save the Date
Partner Profiles

NEWH - June 2009