-By Stacy Straczynski

Last night (Jan. 19) The Museum of Art & Design (MAD) in New York City celebrated the opening of Robert, named after New York’s famous party planner Robert Isabell. The restaurant, which Contract magazine previously reported when the venue officially opened, is located on the ninth floor of the museum and was commissioned by restaurateurs Michael Weinstein of Ark Restaurants and Brian Saltzman.
 
New York-based David Schefer Design was behind Robert’s overall design. According to the design service’s founders David Schefer and Eve-Lynn Schoenstein, who also happen to be married and have a son, the project presented two distinct challenges: to create a modern and sophisticated environment that would harmonize the views of Central Park with a selection of decorative objects and art pieces, and to provide a flexible space that easily could transition from daytime to nighttime dining, as well as transform from a restaurant to an event space for museum functions.
 
The result is a space unified by an open floor plan with congruent yet uniquely different furniture styles and flooring to allow for maximum flexibility. The layout, shaped like a sideways letter “L,” is separated into four sections. Guests arrive at the restaurant directly off one of the two elevators. They immediately see a main lounge area that occupies the majority of the floor’s center. A collection of seating options is available here for comfortable conversation. Each section is denoted by a small, circular, glass tabletop set on a reflective aluminum base by Philip Michael Wolfson that is surrounded by clear-frame armchairs with fuchsia seat cushions and long benches upholstered with slightly reflective teal- and gold/silver-colored fabric by Vladimir Kagan. The clear tabletops and aluminum bases vividly reflect the surrounding hues and work well to provide a modern yet homey feel. Underfoot, a plush carpet with a block color design adds yet another layer of color.
 
Along the restaurant’s outer edges lies a series of white-cloth covered tables, which present a more intimate dining atmosphere. The two-person tables and alternating orange/red and purple/red upholstered chair pairs are also set atop metal bases, which serve to disperse the play on color even further, while a silver square patterned tile floor gives a muted mirror effect. On the far wall hangs a large flat-screen TV with a sprawling flower pattern.
 
Even the view overhead was taken into consideration. The ceiling is covered with pucker-texture black tile pieces that act as a blank canvas through which  the glowing pink LEDs shine. The lighting system, designed by Johanna Grawunder, fills the space with a chic fuschia glow to resemble the city lights visible through the restaurant’s floor-to-ceiling windows. Along the outer walls, hidden LEDs cast down triangle “waterfalls” of a gold glow to give the plain white walls depth and intrigue.
 
“We developed an 'open' plan layout for maximum flexibility,” says Schefer and Schoenstein. “We also established a design vocabulary that utilizes a variety of modern/industrial-type materials, such as metallic porcelain tiles, expanded metal ceiling panels, stainless-steel trim, tightly upholstered metallic fabric panels, decorative plaster, and strategically placed mirrored panels to create a integrated back-drop that reflects the architecture of the museum and provides an engaged setting for the selected art installations and furnishings.”
 
For more on Robert and to see images from the event, visit TalkContract.com.