Date Night for Architects: New York's Newest Restaurant with Design Cred
A restrained interior by architect Annabelle Selldorf adds gravitas to restaurateur Danny Meyer's latest hotspot, Marta, inside the new Martha Washington hotel.
The Martha Washington Hotel
29 East 29th Street
New York, NY
212-689-1900
Rooms from $335
Chelsea Hotels' recently-opened Martha Washington Hotel in the NoMad District of Manhattan hired architect Annabelle Selldorf for an interior renovation of the former women's boardinghouse. The onetime roster of guests, ranging from Eleanor Roosevelt to Louise Brooks and Veronica Lake, wouldn't feel terribly out of place in 2015: Selldorf kept a light touch on historical accents like the fluted columns, soaring archways, and coffered ceilings, while updated the finishes with a restrained modern palette.
In the ground-floor public spaces, the architects used custom-cast blue concrete tiles by Concrete Collaborative. The side chairs throughout the space are a custom design by Selldorf Architects in a tweed upholstery by Bute Fabrics.
Selldorf's team installed a custom pizza bar for Marta out of Breccia Capria marble. The ovens are tiled in blackened glossy solid glazed brick by Waterworks; the wall behind is clad in Sugar White Glazed Brick by Nemo Tile.
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The blackened copper bar was custom designed by Selldorf Architects, along with bar stools in Aspen Mink by Dualoy Leather, walnut end grain dining tables, and walnut chairs with rush seating. The chandelier installed over the dining area of Marta is a leather-and-brass custom fabrication by Apparatus Studio.
Marta, a new restaurant from Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group, along with Chef Nick Anderer of Maialino, is located in the hotel lobby.
While the overall feeling of Marta and the hotel public spaces pay homage to the building's venerable history, Selldorf is responsible for a few subtle touches that open up the space, including stripping the interiors of decorative elements left from previous remodels, as well as dropping the floor a few feet.
Martha Washington Hotel and the restaurant Marta opened in fall of 2014; rooms from $335.
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