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Although themed restaurants--where entertainment is as significant an attraction as the cooking--are all the rage now, the owners of the new Fire & Ice restaurant in Cambridge, Massa-chusetts, decided to keep their focus on food. Instead of loading a space up with sports memorabilia or movie props, they wanted the design of their flagship restaurant to showcase an innovative concept for the kitchen: the ``improvisational grill.'' At Fire & Ice, patrons use their plates like painters' palettes, assembling their own meals from ingredients available at various food stations, then handing them over to chefs who cook them at a central grill.
Taking cues from the impromptu nature of this dining experience, architects Prellwitz/Chilinski Associates created an 8,000-square- foot restaurant that could easily be mistaken for a nightclub. From the cool atmosphere of the bar near the entrance to the warmer, animated rear dining area and courtyard, the design is a collage of moods and colors. Paths of light lead diners through the space, while color is used to create the sensation that some areas of the restaurant are warm and others cold. The contrasts energize the dining room, creating a festive atmosphere. Suspended, corrugated metal cut in angular shapes, and metal panels punched with geometric shapes have been painted in bright, high-energy colors. These elements are reinforced by an unconventional lighting system partly fashioned out of generic and found lighting components.
Partner-in-charge David Chilinski says his primary goal was to ``craft an...