Architect:

Tadao Ando

 

Completion:

2006

 

Description:

Tadao Ando's first New York commission is a restaurant at the east end of the Chelsea Market for Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto. Entry is underneath the High Line, through a gentle arch partially filled with traditional Japanese noren and framed by horizontal blackened steel siding. Surprisingly this zen-like facade gives the restaurant a strong presence on the busy street.

 

Inside, one confronts an elegant and light-filled space set off by a wall of 17,000 illuminated plastic bottles, a row of ornamental concrete columns, and a fabric ceiling that recalls the raking of Japanese rock gardens. The two-story restaurant has a dining room upstairs, with a bar and lounge downstairs. Ando's signature concrete is present, though not the most overwhelming material, played down in favor of a diverse palette that takes New York City restaurant design to the next level.

 

Images:

 

 

Photo by Alex di Suvero for The New York Times

 

Address:

88 10th Avenue

New York, NY 10011

212.989.8883

 

Map/Directions/Info:

 

 

The building is located at 88 10th Avenue, between 15th and 16th Streets, in Manhattan's Meatpacking District.

 

Train: A,C,E,L to 8th Avenue.

 

Bus: Need bus info

 

Car: Parking is available at the Icon Garage on 9th Avenue and 15th Street.

 

Morimoto is open for lunch Monday-Friday and dinner seven days a week. Check web site for hours.

 

Nearby:

Bohen Foundation

Carlos Miele Flagship Store

DVF Studio Headquarters

Gallery Building

IAC/InterActiveCorp HQ

Porter House Condo

Town House

Yohji Yamamoto

 

Other buildings by architect:

Ando Gallery

Collezione

Eychaner/Lee House

Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth

The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts

 

Links:

Morimoto NYC

Architect's Newspaper

New York Times restaurant review

Architectural Record