Boutique Design - April 2019 - 44

NANCY RUDDY
CETRARUDDY

PROJECT
PARTICIPANTS
CLIENT
D&D London Ltd.
DESIGN FIRM
CetraRuddy: Nancy Ruddy,
founding principal and executive director of interior design
GENERAL CONTRACTOR
Westbuilt
LIGHTING DESIGNER
Kugler Ning
PURCHASING AGENT
Dorothy Vogt Consulting

CROWD PLEASERS

New York City's GDP just got a major boost (to the tune of more than $10
billion) by finally welcoming the massive Hudson Yards neighborhood atop the
MTA's John D. Caemmerer West Side Storage Yard last month-and it's not
even fully open yet. Planned as the first LEED-certified neighborhood and
home to a public square and gardens, an interactive landmark dubbed "The
Vessel," a 1-million-sq.-ft. retail center with more than 100 shops and F&B
venues, commercial and residential towers, it brings jobs, jobs and more jobs
to the city's underutilized far west side, not to mention some awesome feats of
architecture and design.
Being a small fish in a big megadevelopment pond such as this can make it
difficult to stand out and draw people in when surrounded by so many options,
not to mention competition from the rest of the boroughs beyond. Though the
scale of this challenge is pretty much one-of-a-kind, the lessons learned by
designers working to get their projects noticed provide a masterplan for
concepting and delivering must-see F&B.
When creating a brand and experience for Queensyard, D&D London
Ltd.'s second outpost in New York, CetraRuddy knew it needed to strike a
balance between connecting with the energy outside while still maintaining
a sense of privacy. This 296-seat venue is typical of forward-looking F&B
outlets that serve as much more than a restaurant. It's also a bar, kitchen and
café/wine bar in one, offering a variety of menus for day into evening
(including an everyday afternoon tea). "Visual connectivity between the
restaurant and daily life in Hudson Yards was important," says Nancy Ruddy,
founding principal and executive director of interior design, CetraRuddy.
"The design creates that visual link to the Vessel, the park and the river, while
also balancing the privacy of those in the restaurant with the overall shopping experience at Hudson Yards." A floor-to-ceiling glass wall provides all of
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the above, allowing the movement and color outside to pump up the food
presentation, while a raised bar area connected to the main dining room
with contiguous platform stairs gives the illusion of seclusion.
Queensyard is a case-in-point example of the increasing complexity of multitasking F&B design. The spaces had to be distinct but discrete, warm but not
homey, New York and London. Ruddy and her team found that opposites attract.
"This led us to our bespoke detailing and palette of natural materials, warm
hues and alluring textures that contrast with the Hudson Yards glass-and-steel
towers," she says. The history of the site (its original name being the Hudson Yards
Rail Yards) is also referenced in unique ways, such as an open-fret 12-ft.-high screen
of rotating wood fins above the central raised bar and kitchen platform that recall
old railroad ties. As London is D&D's home and hub, British culture is celebrated in
offbeat allusions (including references to current and past queens in both art and
textiles), and more obvious ones such as the crafted wood ceiling above the bar
and kitchen modeled on pub ceilings in the UK, and the potted plants, flowers and
sculpted dogs surrounding it that pay homage to British gardens.

W I L L S TA N L E Y, C O U R T E S Y O F Q U E E N S YA R D ( Q U E E N S YA R D ) ; C O U R T E S Y O F C E T R A R U D DY ( R U D DY )

QUEENSYARD, HUDSON YARDS, NEW YORK
http://www.boutiquedesign.com
Boutique Design - April 2019

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