Legendary Four Seasons Restaurant set to leave Manhattan home of 56 years, furniture to be auctioned
New York’s The Four Seasons restaurant, which on Monday was awarded the Design Icon Award at the James Beard Foundation Awards, will soon close its doors ahead of a move to a new location.
The restaurant’s operators have been unable to negotiate an extension to their current lease, and have chosen to leave their home of over 50 years inside Mies van der Rohe’s landmark Seagram building in Manhattan.
The restaurant will close its doors on 16 July 2016, with auction house Wright then stepping in to hold a special sale on July 26 in the restaurant. They will sell around 500 lots, including custom-made Knoll furniture, designed tableware and cookware and other objects from the iconic interiors, which were designed by architect Philip Johnson in 1959.
In a statement, Wright said: “The Four Seasons has become one of the most important and recognisable international style interior spaces in the world.
“While the interior space is landmarked – the famous bar, sculpture and curtains will all remain intact once the restaurant closes – the designed furniture, tableware and objects will be offered at auction in the extraordinary one day event.”
While details of the restaurant’s new home have yet to be revealed, Bloomberg reported The Four Seasons will be without a home for about a year, before re-opening in a building close to its original home.
According to the publication, co-owner Alex von Bidder said: “What we’re hoping is that absence makes the heart grow fonder. If you don’t have us, maybe you’ll miss us and you’ll come see us.”
The Four Seasons is famous for its luxurious and modern trappings and its popularity among celebrities and power brokers. Over the years it has exhibited rotating galleries of modern art, including a Picasso stage curtain from a 1919 French production of the ballet Le Tricorne, and works by Andy Warhol, Frank Stella, Jackson Pollock and Joán Miró.
Architect James Biber, chair of the James Beard Foundation Restaurant Design Awards Committee, said: “In introducing generations of diners to modern elegance and luxury, The Four Seasons forever changed restaurant design, even as it remained virtually unchanged itself.”
Four Seasons New York restaurant restaurant design architecture Phillip Johnson Miles van der Rohe James BeardRestaurant design winners announced at 2016 James Beard Awards
Four Seasons Restaurant in New York wins inaugural design icon award from James Beard Foundation
FEATURE: CLAD people – James Biber founder Biber Architects
Aman sister brand Janu debuts in Tokyo with four-floor urban wellness retreat
€38m geothermal spa and leisure centre to revitalise Croatian city of Bjelovar
Two Santani eco-friendly wellness resorts coming to Oman, partnered with Omran Group
Kerzner shows confidence in its Siro wellness hotel concept, revealing plans to open 100
Ritz-Carlton, Portland unveils skyline spa inspired by unfolding petals of a rose
Rogers Stirk Harbour & Partners are just one of the names behind The Emory hotel London and Surrenne private members club
Peninsula Hot Springs unveils AUS$11.7m sister site in Australian outback
IWBI creates WELL for residential programme to inspire healthy living environments
Conrad Orlando unveils water-inspired spa oasis amid billion-dollar Evermore Resort complex
Studio A+ realises striking urban hot springs retreat in China's Shanxi Province
Populous reveals plans for major e-sports arena in Saudi Arabia
Wake The Tiger launches new 1,000sq m expansion
Othership CEO envisions its urban bathhouses in every city in North America
Merlin teams up with Hasbro and Lego to create Peppa Pig experiences
SHA Wellness unveils highly-anticipated Mexico outpost
One&Only One Za’abeel opens in Dubai featuring striking design by Nikken Sekkei
Luxury spa hotel, Calcot Manor, creates new Grain Store health club
'World's largest' indoor ski centre by 10 Design slated to open in 2025
Murrayshall Country Estate awarded planning permission for multi-million-pound spa and leisure centre
Aman's Janu hotel by Pelli Clarke & Partners will have 4,000sq m of wellness space
Therme Group confirms Incheon Golden Harbor location for South Korean wellbeing resort
Universal Studios eyes the UK for first European resort
King of Bhutan unveils masterplan for Mindfulness City, designed by BIG, Arup and Cistri
Rural locations are the next frontier for expansion for the health club sector
Tonik Associates designs new suburban model for high-end Third Space health and wellness club
Aman sister brand Janu launching in Tokyo in 2024 with design by Denniston's Jean-Michel Gathy
The Peninsula London unveils Peter Marino-designed spa inspired by London’s famous parks
First glimpses revealed of Mandarin Oriental, Mayfair's subterranean spa retreat
"Architecture is alive" says Ma Yansong, as Shenzhen art museum opens exhibition showcasing work of MAD Architects
SHA Mexico to debut in January 2024 with genome-inspired design by Sordo Madaleno
Early-onset MS inspired Adria Lake to explore resilience as both a healing modality and an approach to design in the creation of her new home and company headquarters in Colorado