NEW BUCA LOCATION BOASTS BEAUTIFULLY CRAFTED LIGHTS BY VISO A third location of Buca Restaurants is now open at the foot of the four seasons in Yorkville. Owned by Peter Tsebelis, Gus Giazitizidis and Rob Gentile of King Street Food Company, this location features a coastal palette of seafood, a special selection of Italian wines, and a contemporary ambience. Buca worked with Costantino Studios for the design of the restaurant. Designed to be the “coastal cousin” of Buca on King Street, the 3,500-‐sq. ft restaurant was given a lighter feel.
DESIGN CHALLENGE The designer Guido Costantino sought to keep the space simple and elegant with a tie to the food and the origins behind it. “I spent a lot of time with the chef to truly understand the cuisine” stated Costantino. This objective was in part achieved by using honest materials such as real marble, white oak and brass.
DESIGN SOLUTIONS The lighting was integrated seamlessly with the space and the cuisine. A large chandelier was designed for the entrance to create a striking first impression. This fixture is comprised of 220 linear brass tubes that hang from the ceiling forming a large rectangular shape. The lights are long and elegant, of a familiar profile but lighter and more refined, painted with a champagne finish. The brass finished tubes expose light at varying heights from the bottom. A slender metal wire contours each light bulb and adds a touch of luxury. During the engineering stage, the remarkable weight of the fixtures posed another challenge. In order to hold the weight of the large chandelier at 2,640 pounds, the ceiling needed to be reinforced. Unistrut technology was also used to hang the fixture properly and safely from the ceiling. One of the objectives was to achieve sustainable lighting, and each fixture was designed to accommodate LED lamping. Current LED lamping emits cold light, which is challenging and counterintuitive to a warm environment. Even with a dimming system the restaurant owners felt the LED lamps did not produce the right luminosity for a restaurant dedicated to Italy and its cuisine. The light needed to feel warm and inviting. For this reason, each lamp was changed to halogen to meet the needs of the design.
