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Lighting
Aldea’s lighting is some of the most unusual we’ve seen. Two chandeliers decorate the restaurant; one illuminates the bar and the other the chef’s tables. The chandelier over the bar is a long, rectilinear structure that follows the line of the bar and is suspended from the ceiling by a series of long, thin chrome filaments. The more unique chandelier is the one that provides cascading light over the chef’s tables. It is especially exquisite. Although both chandeliers were designed by Stephanie Goto, this one takes inspiration from the movement of clouds, air and light, and visually connects the two levels of the restaurant. Acrylic tubes -- 400 of them, each 9 feet long -- come in two diameters, the effect of which is an organic graphic pattern that you see when you look up from your table. The tubes also glow different colors at different temperatures, adding a second layer of movement to the pattern. You can sit either beneath the chandelier at a chef’s table or next to it upstairs, where you can watch it from above. |
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Decor
Taking its inspiration from the countryside of the Iberian coast -- and intermingling that design with modern touches -- Aldea is as beautiful as it is soothing. Images of water, air, wind, clouds, sky and earth are present throughout. Stone, wood and plants are also utilized to enhance these images. Upon entering the restaurant you’ll be confronted with two-story walls that are reminiscent of the wind, water and sky, as they are painted with varying hues of blue and juxtaposed with the light wood of the bar and the concrete of the wall behind it, evocative of sand and earth. Décor is minimal and consists of curly wood branches, bamboo and unique lighting fixtures, as well as an interesting wooden sculpture in the upstairs private dining room. It is made from long leaf yellow pine, is 150 years old and was once a beam in a Tribeca building. The sculpture’s was made in order to create a “wood” feature focused on highlighting the natural pattern of the end grain of the wood beam, thereby demystifying the original material into a secondary reading. It’s a piece that’s worth the journey upstairs to see. |
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