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SHOWCASE: Theater Of The Edible

TFM Staff Report

September 25, 2002, Broadway welcomed its newest show and raised the curtain on the largest metropolitan McDonald's restaurant in America, located at the center of New York's tourism and entertainment district. Neighboring cast members from the Tony Award winning show, 42nd Street, celebrated the grand opening of the new McDonald's with a special "premier" performance.

"We are thrilled to be part of the buzz of Broadway and 42nd Street and to serve the community of New York City," says Irwin Kruger, owner/operator of the McDonald's Times Square. "The restaurant is designed to be a natural fit with our famous Broadway neighbors, both in its architectural design and in the fun and excitement we'll provide for the thousands of New York residents and visitors who pass by each day."

Customized Approaches

Dominick Loweth, director of facilities at the McDonald's Times Square, has been in the profession for nine years, and all of that time has been spent working in McDonald's restaurants. Loweth's responsibilities at the McDonald's Times Square include everything. "From head to toe-lighting, plumbing, you name it, we do it."

Some of Loweth's tasks are particular to McDonald's and the food service industry. "Most of it is standard, except for our kitchens (which are particular to food service) and our exhaust system (which is unique to McDonald's)."

Loweth easily justifies the advantages of the custom exhaust system. "Most stores use built in make up air, and they have a hood that's designed for supply air and exhaust at the same time," he explains. "We use make up air outside the hoods to replace what we are exhausting."

With this kind of complex system, Loweth's primary objective in the project was to minimize maintenance. "Right now we have a crew of nine. Our hoods are cleaned every three months. Our exhaust fans are maintained daily."

Climate Control Challenges

"The front doors are open all the time, so we needed something for the front of the building to keep everybody comfortable throughout the year," explains Loweth. "During the winter, we can achieve this due to hot water heated air curtains that come off the boilers. And in the summer when it's warm, we keep our cooling in, because the air curtains form a door of air. It won't let the cold air out or the warm air in."

According to Loweth, there is yet another benefit of the air curtains, "which are built into the BMS system-Metasys from Johnson Controls. We're tying everything into it, so everything is run automatically. We have no thermostats, only space sensors. It runs my pumps, controls my boilers, and monitors the heat pumps and cooling tower. Best of all, I can control it from anywhere in the world."

Due to this extreme demand, Loweth used Baltimore Air Coil cooling towers for the Times Square property. This facility has 100 tons of air conditioning (compared to 40 or 45 tons in the average McDonald's).

Saving Energy

In an effort to conserve energy, Loweth employed a load shedding strategy. "The building is equipped to load shed, so we can turn things off when the floors close down. We close the upper area about midnight, except on weekends. Then the downstairs is open until 2:00 a.m., which is when the rest of the store closes. At 2:00 a.m. when we close, we shut the heaters down, and they don't go back on until about 7:00 or 7:30 in the morning-unless the weather makes it unnecessary to do so."

Dramatic lighting approaches translated to an initial need for high energy spending in the building. The facility's energy costs are around $30,000 per month. "For the size of this store," says Loweth, "that would be about average." But by integrating the lighting system into Metasys, Loweth hopes to regulate the spending and optimize the load shedding strategy.

In a theatrical backstage design, interior designer Charles Morris Mount created an ambiance for the restaurant's decor by exposing the building's original brickwork and using authentic theatrical lighting fixtures to illuminate the space in dramatic style. Outside, the building features a full-length marquee, with 8,000 theatrical light bulbs. "That's a lot of light and a lot of bulb changing, but it was necessary in order to keep the exterior feel true to the era of the building and its environs," states Loweth.

Historic Preservation

The new McDonald's is actually housed in the converted landmark Candler Building. Originally constructed in 1914 by Villauer, Shape & Bready, the facility was built in 1914 for Coca-Cola Company's Asa Candler as a monument for his sales success.

The neo-Renaissance office tower is clad in white terra-cotta tiles, with arched triple windows rising the height of the 24-story facade. At the time of its completion, the building was one of the tallest in Manhattan.

Because of its proximity to Times Square (a part of Manhattan that's undergoing drastic changes and renovations), the building has been retained as a 42nd Street landmark. While this has been an honor for those involved in the project, it has proven to be quite a challenge.

"When we took this building, we gutted the whole thing. On the inside, we lowered the second floor and then raised the upper floor another 5'. Outside, we're restoring the front of the building, so all of the stonework will look exactly like it did when the building was first put up," explains Loweth.

"We had to go to Washington, DC and get permits taken care of, but it wasn't as bad a process as you might expect," says Loweth.

Other Challenges

The historic preservation aspects posed some surprising challenges. "Most of the exposed brick was rebricked. We had to go out and find old, used brick to match what we already had. Then we sandblasted it and sealed it, so there is really no serious up keep."

Loweth recalls more difficult obstacles caused by some members of the project team. "I've done 598 McDonald's, so architects and engineers can't tell me what goes into these projects. Because of their mistakes, we spent a fortune knocking out boilers, repiping, and putting in another heat exchanger. I don't even want to go into the details." Loweth advises facility professionals to stay on their toes. "Stay involved," he explains.

"There could be a lot of fighting and headaches. You have to pick the right contractors and consultants-those that you can work with. Coordination and supervision have to go hand in hand with construction."

A Star Is Born

The interiors feature 40' high columns clad with deep blue, hand cast, reflective glass tiles. Floor and wall tiles were selected based on both drama and durability.

Before being approved for use at McDonald's Times Square, Lonseal vinyl floor tiles first had to pass certain testing methods specifically devised by the owner of the facility. "We put the product down on a driveway, and an employee ran his car over it....We tried to gouge it with a knife and a couple of screwdrivers. But all to no avail. I'm sure it can withstand the busy customer flow we're going to have," Kruger proclaims.

Loweth and his crew had a great deal of autonomy in the design and selection of products for the facility. "We designed it. McDonald's built it to a point, and then we took over. We chose our wall designs, our handrails, and of course, our Corian. We're very big on Corian here," Loweth says. "The front counter, the bathroom partitions, and all the tables in here are made of it," he adds.

"We spent over $300,000 just on Corian. The beauty of it in a restaurant where the public comes in all the time is that if it scratches, you can buff it out or sand it out. If they put grafitti on it, you can sand it out. Very rarely can they break Corian. If they do, it can be sealed and fixed. Corian is the best thing in any restaurant where there are many people. This stuff will stay for 30 or 40 years."

According to Michael Taglienti, a certified fabricator of DuPont Corian surfaces, his company (College Point, NY-based E&P Unlimited Corp.) even lined birch plywood with Corian cone inserts to funnel liquid into the trash. There are no doors at all on the receptacles.

In keeping with the backstage theme, the countertops were made of Mediterranean Corian, a dark, speckled blue surface that gives the impression of a starry night sky. Additionally, Corian was used in a new application that incorporated fiber optics into two communal tables and bar style seating surfaces. Taglienti felt strongly that "Corian was the only thing that would work with fiber optics in the surface."

Jeff Evans, CEO of E&P, welcomed the challenge to push the limits of his shop's capabilities. "This is the first time we've incorporated fiber optics with Corian, and we're thrilled with the results," he says. "It is exciting to see the ideas designers come up with and to be able to bring those ideas to life."

Those Extra Touches

Mark Nusbaum, AIA, associate at New York City-based Beyer Blinder Belle Architects, was the architect for the McDonald's Times Square project. "Besides the Corian, the one thing that stands out is what was not specified: paint. Except for the ceilings in the dining areas, there are no painted surfaces in this McDonald's."

The franchise operator, ISK Manhattan, knew from past experience that painted surfaces would eventually chip and require constant maintenance. "This is one of the reasons why all the exposed steel components, like the stairs and guardrails, were not painted," says Nusbaum.

Instead, all surfaces were just treated with a clear coat finish. Even the hollow metal doors and frames were left unpainted. "All the surfaces had to be durable and easy to maintain," Nusbaum adds.

These considerations came into play during Mount's interior design of the project. [Editor's note: On Friday, November 5, 2002, Mount passed away. He was 60 years old.] For example, he said a chair in a fast food restaurant must meet two requirements. First, it must pass the durability test: drop it out of a second story window, and if it survives, it might last two years in the restaurant. Second, the chair must be uncomfortable enough so customers would get up and move on. "It's not easy," he said. "You want a chair that looks good, is sturdy, and reasonably comfortable. But you don't want customers to spend the night."

To add to the backstage setting, the team selected 17 oversized plasma screens, 27 small monitors, and 10 projectors for the space. McDonald's worked with New York City-based R. Greenberg Associates (R/GA) to develop the multimedia experience. Nusbaum says the overall collaboration had excellent results. "From Beyer Blinder Belle's perspective, ISK Manhattan and McDonald's were the ideal clients. They knew what they wanted and had the technical and managerial know-how to assist us. Their input and expertise was an invaluable tool that enabled us to provide a higher level of design service to them."

Eventually, the team was able to create a concept-the backstage black box theater space-that fit perfectly within the context of 42nd Street and the Theater District. Best of all, the result is a dramatic space that's easy to maintain.