Le Pavillon

Le Pavillon at One Vanderbilt from Chef Daniel Boulud is inspired by the traditional pavilions found throughout France, and features a winding garden path and live olive trees, along with nearly 60-foot-high ceilings and a hand-blown glass chandelier, highlighting views of Grand Central Terminal and the Chrysler building. Shawmut achieved the indoor garden through the installation of a 775 square-foot planting area supported by 2,000 square feet of dedicated infrastructure—all sitting directly above the MTA Transit Hall entrance to Grand Central Station. In order to accommodate the soil depth requirements of the various plants without affecting the structural framing, the team created three-foot-deep planter pits in between beams.

The team drilled the concrete slabs using a demolition robot to create the pit depressions, and then waterproofed the pits and the sections above the intersecting beams with a double-layer cold-applied Kemper exterior-grade roofing system. A passive drainage system, similar to those used on green roofs, was then installed above the waterproofing by layering a matrix of multiple protection courses and drainage mats integrated with French drains running adjacent to the structural members. All of the drains pitched toward a specific wall at one central point, where the water is removed. The remaining depth of the pits was completely filled with soil, including a 6” deep layer above the beams.

A dramatic focal point in Le Pavillon is the custom chandelier suspended over Bar Vandy. A full-scale mockup was created and temporarily hung within the space, enabling the team to refine the scale and stacking order of the individual components. The resulting 12-foot- chandelier consists of 264 pieces of glass ranging in size from 12 to 18 inches. The glass globes and lighting components are hung on metal aircraft cables of varying lengths from the 55-foot-high ceiling, and the installation required careful planning. The team dismantled the existing terra cotta ceiling system to install structural hang points to mount the cables. The installation was performed by licensed NYC master riggers due to the height and logistics of the work.

An unusual challenge was the delivery of 12 large black olive trees that form a main focal point of the interior landscape. The trees, with a total weight of 10,000 pounds, were trucked to the site, some as tall as 22 feet and therefore unable to be delivered through the building. The only way to install the trees was to remove a portion of the glass façade to provide direct access into the space from the street. Shawmut scheduled the work for a Saturday morning when a portion of 42nd Street could be closed to traffic with minimal impact. A scaffold platform built expressly for the tree installation was used to enable workers to access the second-floor level from the street. Two panels of the curtain wall were temporarily removed, and the trees were crane lifted from delivery trucks into the space. The curtain wall was reinstalled, and the scaffolding was removed by Sunday evening so that the street could be reopened to traffic by Monday morning.