An American Lion

Banq Restaurant

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Banq Restaurant in Boston via Interior Design, Decorating, Furniture, Architecture, Home & House Design Magazine

by Michael on 11/30/09

Banq Restaurant

Designed by Office dA the Banq Restaurantis located in the old Penny Savings Bank (1375 Washington Street, Boston, MA) at the base of the old banking hal. Now this restaurant has a very unique design, and I’m pretty sure that every guest will remember this restaurant design, and of course talk about it. The wall and ceilings were decorate using wave element made from unique pieces of three-quarter-inch birch plywood adhered together in a scenario that likens to a puzzle; only one possible location for each unit, formulating the continuous member. Below the ceiling, the functional aspects of a dining space are fabricated with warm woods and relaminated bamboo amplifying the striping affect already at play throughout the space. Striations of the ground, the furnishings, and the ceiling all conspire to create a total effect, embedding the diners into the grain of the restaurant. Office dA managed to bypass any structural problems and create a very beautiful space out of an abandoned building. This is a great example of how inspired design can create a silk purse out of a sows ear.

It’s a great use of design principles, but it must have been prohibitively expensive to make and install. Am I hung up on the wrong thing here? Probably.

Let’s say it was reasonable and all—do I like it?

Banq Restaurant

My problem with the design comes from this shot. I love the texture of the room—the floor and the tables and chairs are perfect for the interior and the glassware is exactly what is needed, and there’s certainly an opportunity to ruin it with the wrong choices. The right choices were certainly made.

I can’t get past the cow udder hanging down into the business part of the room, however. A much less pronounced swoop down and more of a gentle wave would have been better. Perhaps the idea was, if you’re going to use this material, make it stand out, and I can understand that. The pillars are symmetrically aligned, but the effect is ruined for me when the ceiling bulges down like that. I think that if you’re going to use wood, you might as well go for symmetry over uneven swoops and swirls, but that’s just me being picky.

I’m sure others can and would like it more than I do, and I can certainly see that this is taste over anything else. Would I love to eat at the Banq Restaurant? Sure, what’s on the menu?