Duke of Montrose

2013 - Brooklyn, NY, USA

The Duke of Montrose is a whiskey bar in Brooklyn that was designed by Taylor and Miller and built by one of the bar’s owners, Steve Owen. As a built work, the project is based on the idea of taking what is typically a two-dimensional pattern – the herringbone pattern – and translating it into three-dimensional space and form. The herringbone pattern came with a slight nod to the pattern used on the basketball court of the Brooklyn Nets, whose Barclays Center is 2 blocks away from the bar. The individual units of the pattern are basic pine 2x4s. Pulled out of the constraints of a 2d surface pattern, the 2x4s begin to create continuous curvature out of once perpendicular and flat surfaces.

The construction of the project was also used as an exploration of data-driven architectural representation between designer and builder/owner, where the 2x4 units that make up the topological curves where noted as simple numbers that dictated how far out of the wall surface the units came, with a second notation that described where in the herringbone pattern the units ‘reset’ themselves in relationship to the ceiling datum line. The system was designed to allow for adjustments to be made on site; without input from the design team. The result (we think) is an interesting combination of system and improvisation.