We’re working on the floors now at the new restaurant. We made the decision to re-use the existing floor which we’re really excited about. For one, it saves us a bunch of money that we can re-allocate to do other great stuff. Second, it uses less material, which is great from an environmental perspective. Finally, we couldn’t be happier with how it’s going to look.
The Holyoke Center, the massive building of which we are a part, was designed by a somewhat famous architect named Sert. He did the science center over at Harvard, Peabody Terrace, and the Holyoke Center. He was the head of the design school at Harvard.
Sert was born in Barcelona, Spain. I’m still learning about him, but my casual observation is that he took architectural elements out of their context. The fins, heavy concrete, types of windows, etc, make a ton of sense if you’re in Southern Spain, or Brazil. But Not so much in New England. Areas of the building that should be open are enclosed (because of winter). Glass isn’t used efficiently, and most glass is the lowest rated possible, and we’re prevented from changing that by people who love history.
Anyway, I don’t mean to make this into a critique of the Holyoke Center, I actually sort of like the building. What I was going to say was that the building was built in phases. And ours was one of the very last phases. Which means our “floor” was outdoor patio until the building was completed. We just learned this and couldn’t be happier because it means we get to re-use the pavers and in the end we’ll have a sidewalk that moves seamlessly into our building.