The Gourmet Room: Re-imagining a Modernist Landmark

the

gourmet room

re-imagining a modernist landmark

Liz Ickes INTD Capstone 2017 Comprehensive Project Analysis

“If you want to know what your grandchildren will think of as the elegance of this post-war era, you will have to go to Cincinnati and take an elevator up to the eighth floor of a pink brick building.�

Harpers Magazine, 1948 1

Contents Background Concept Final Design Schematic Design Design Development Appendix

7 19 25 41 55 69

background

-7-

history The Terrace Plaza Hotel building was commissioned by Thomas Emery and Sons in 1945, signing contracts with J.C. Penney and Bond Department Stores to construct a building for the two retailers and make recommendations for what to do with the air rights above. Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill (SOM), a relatively young firm at the time, was chosen as the architect for the project after proposing a hotel as the secondary use of the site and their modern aesthetic. Emery was also the developer behind the Netherland Plaza complex, a pioneer of the mixeduse building type. Even though he was not particularly fond of the Modernist style, Emery believed that a public building should reflect the style of the time and contain the best examples of contemporary art.1 The property was conceived as a seven story brick box for the department stores with a 12 story hotel tower on top, capped by the 20th story penthouse restaurant. It was largely designed

by Natalie de Blois, a Columbia graduate from New Jersey who started at SOM in 1944. She became one of the firm’s first designers, but was almost never credited for her work because she was a woman. During her time working on the Terrace Plaza, she never met with the client or visited the site on 6th Street.1 The building officially opened on July 19, 1948, and was hailed as an instant icon of modern design both, locally and nationally.

It was a first in many categories: SOM’s first hotel project, Cincinnati’s first new construction post WWII, and America’s first modernist hotel. The extensive use of contemporary technology in the guest rooms and public spaces gave the building its “push-button palace” nickname. The major public spaces were centered around the art that was commissioned for the building.

A Saul Steinburg mural covered the back wall of the Skyline Room, an Alexander Calder mobile hung in the eighth floor lobby above a seating group, a Jim Davis light sculpture was the focal element of the Terrace Garden restaurant, and the finest piece, a Joan Miró mural adorned the back wall of the Gourmet Room restaurant atop the building. All of the furniture was

custom designed by SOM’s interior design department. The most interesting pieces were the guest room beds that also doubled as sofas during the day. At the push of a button, the bed would slide away from the wall and pillows were stored in the built-in casework that also housed the radio.1 This interdisiplinary approach to design was pioneered by SOM, and The Terrace Plaza was the first project where they tested this strategy, marking a shift in the way American design and architecture firms worked. This influence is still very prevalent in today’s design workforce world.

The building totaled 600,000 square feet of usable space, containing 324 guest rooms, 14 apartments, 4 restaurants, 2 department stores, 3 retail stores, and two half-floors of office space.1

clockwise from top left: buiding exterior at opening; Gourmet Room interior; street level entrance; hotel lobby

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current state The hotel experienced an eight year period of high success before being sold to the Hilton Corporation on November 1, 1956. Emery sold both the Terrace Plaza and the Netherland Plaza hotels to Hilton to free up money for future downtown projects. The signs were changed and the interiors rebranded, losing all remnants of their modern design.1 In 1965, Emery negotiated the donation of the Miró, Calder, and Steinburg artwork pieces to the Cincinnati Art Museum to ensure their survival. Over the course of Hilton’s ownership, the mobile had been painted various colors, the Jim Davis sculpture mysteriously disappeared, and fourteen feet of the Steinburg mural was missing. Soon after the art was removed, the interiors underwent a massive renovation. All of the built-in furniture was removed, the lobby was reconfigured, and the building lost most of what made it special. The biggest change was in the Gourmet Room restaurant. Wood panelling covered the walls once adorned by the Miró mural and a hole was cut into the ceiling to accommodate for a large French chandelier.1

small retail tenants on the ground floor of the building.1 The most recent rumors surrounding the building involve a nationally known real estate developer who wants to convert the hotel portion to condos and re-purpose the bottom as mixed use retail and parking. The building is legally for sale, which opens the possibilities for either development of demolition.

Not being listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the current political stance on historic preservation in regards to downtown revitalization puts this building at high risk for demolition or significant alteration. The staggering price tag for the renovation also raises some red flags. My only hope is that the right developer will come along and but the required love and thought into a sympathetic rehabilitation.

J.C. Penney and Bond Department Stores closed their doors in 1968 and 1977 respectively, marking the beginning of a slow, painful decline. In 1983, AT&T purchased the building from Hilton and transformed the old department store floors into office space for it’s Long Line Division. They maintained offices there for eight years, then put the building up for sale. Finally in 1994, the building was purchased by Oliveye Retail Limited Partnership, who contracted Crowne Plaza to operate the hotel portion again. It opened as the Crowne Plaza Terrace Hotel in October of 1995, but closed its doors 9 years later in 2004.1 A team of developers proposed the conversion of the property into a boutique hotel with condominium units, but when only one of the 78 proposed units sold, the project was quickly abandoned. A New York investment group operated the hotel as the Terrace Hotel from 2005 until October of 2008, when it closed for good. Now the building is 95% vacant, with three

clockwise from top left: building exterior; Gourmet Room lounge; Gourmet Room dining space; hotel lobby

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site analysis - 15 w sixth st Criterion

Terrace plaza

In Core CBD

5

Historic Building

5

Streetcar Proximity

4

Other Businesses Nearby

5

Parking Availability

5

Site Potential

5

Street Life

5

Total

34/35

Pros: • In downtown • Right off Fountain Square • Close to streetcar route • Currently vacant, big potential • Hugely important building • Composition presents challenges • Opportunity for many uses

Cons: • Very large, half block • 6 floors without windows • Maybe too many choices

5 block radius public transit surface parking office arts + culture residential public space + recreation

restaurants retail civic mixed use residential mixed use office hotels

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building program adjacencies Program

SQ. FT.

Max OCC

Apartment Units

155,000

200

Outdoor Space

5,000

100

Bar

2,500

150

Coffee Bar

2,500

150

Urban Market

31,000

700

Fast Casual Restaurant

2,500

150

Nightclub

18,000

1,200

Spa

10,000

100

Lobby

10,000

200

Fitness Center

10,000

150

Gourmet Room

4,800

100

Nearby

Pool

12,000

175

Adjacent

Mid-scale Restaurant

6,500

200

Remote

Dine-in Entertainment Venue

50,000

500

Storage

50,000

NA

Not Related

mechanical gourmet room

apartment tower

outdoor space

apartment lobby

mid-scale restaurant spa - fitness - pool storage bar - nightclub

dine-in theater

bar

storage building lobby

coffee bar

fast cas

basement

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urban market

fragment - the gourmet room The Gourmet Room is arguably the most iconic public space in this building.

It is also the perfect place to exercise my own philosophy on preservation. In focusing on the rehabilitation of this space, it sets the tone for how all other spaces are to be approached. Combining history with contemporary life and art is what will set this project apart from other preservation projects in downtown Cincinnati.

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Concept visual + verbal

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how MIGHT WE... ... update and celebrate the historic Gourmet Room restaurant?

LIVING ART By injecting contemporary art and cuisine into historic architecture, and having those things be ever-changing, the Gourmet Room will return to its position as the most innovative restaurant in the city.

how Historic?

There are four approaches to the treatment of historic properties according to the National Parks Service. They are: preservation, rehabilitation, restoration, and reconstruction.2 Each has a very different meaning. I chose rehabilitation for it’s flexibility.

rehabilitation ... making possible a compatible use for a property through repair, alterations, and additions while preserving those portions or features which convey its historical, cultural, or architectural values2...

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abstract The Terrace Plaza Hotel is one of Cincinnati’s Modernist landmarks. When it opened in 1948, it was heralded as one of the most innovative and remarkable structures in the Unites States. It enjoyed a period of great success following its opening, but after being sold to the Hilton hotel family in 1956, the slow and steady decline of the property began. What was once one of the most remarkable buildings in the city is now a dilapidated eyesore on a prime piece of downtown real estate.

All across the country, there is a resurgence of urban migration, both for individuals and for businesses. Cincinnati’s inner core neighborhoods are currently experiencing redevelopment and prosperity at a dizzying rate, putting the Terrace Plaza at the center of the action. Without a National Register designation, this building is at risk of demolition for a “new, more usable building.” With a little faith and creativity, the Terrace Plaza can be what it once was, and serve the 21st century city.

The most important of these iconic interiors is that of the top floor Gourmet Room restaurant. It is the Terrace Plaza’s most unique space and therefore the perfect space to begin with. By combining the timeless architecture of modernism with rotating contemorary art exhibitions, the Gourmet Room can be returned to its position as one of the best restaurants in the city and an iconic interior for today and the future.

The rotating contemporary art exhibitions keep the interiors fresh. They give patrons another reason to go back, to see what’s new. I believe this element is key to preventing the stagnation of the property.

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final design

- 25 -

period interiors

art inspiration

- 27 -

Floor plan 1/16” = 1’

rcp 1/16” = 1’

- 29 -

section 1/16” = 1’

elevations n.t.s

gallery elevation

window wall elevation

bathroom elevation - 31 -

ff&e

sofa group

bar area

chair pair

corner banquette

outdoor dining

outdoor lounge

dining chairs

round banquettes - 33 -

gallery dining room

bar

- 35 -

gallery dining room

main Dining Room

- 37 -

outdoor

materiality millwork veneer

countertops

wall paint

bathroom floor tile

wood floor

metal

- 39 -

bathroom wall tile

Schematic design first iteration

- 41 -

mood

plan itereations

- 43 -

final Floor plan 1/16” = 1’

dining room

- 45 -

schematic design second iteration

- 47 -

mood

Floor plan 1/16” = 1’ outdoor lounge

dining room

bar

kitchen

- 49 -

gallery

reception

restrooms

gallery

bar

- 51 -

dining room

materiality

- 53 -

design development first iteration

- 55 -

floor plan 1/16” = 1’

rcp 1/16” = 1’

- 57 -

sections 1/16” = 1’

short section

long section

interior elevations n.t.s.

mural elevation

gallery elevation

- 59 -

materiality millwork veneer

countertops

wall paint

metal

dining room carpet

wood floor

gallery / bar ff&e

bar area

sofa group #1

sofa group #2 - 61 -

chair pair

dining room ff&e

dining tables

banquettes

outdoor ff&e

lounge chair group

sectional sofa group

cocktial chair group - 63 -

bar

gallery

- 65 -

dining room

outdoor

- 67 -

appendix

- 69 -

Sources bibliography 1) Tubb, Shawn Patrick, Aaron Betsky, and Sue Ann. Painter. Cincinnati’s Terrace Plaza Hotel: An Icon of American Modernism. Cincinnati, OH: Cincinnati Book Pub., 2013. Print.

2) “Four Approaches to the Treatment of Historic Properties—Technical Preservation Services, National Park Service.” National Parks Service. U.S. Department of the Interior, n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2017.

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