Lida Lewis
PASSIONATE DESIGNER
STORYTELLER
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT PARTNER
WORKPLACE + HUMAN EXPERIENCE STRATEGIST
WELLBEING DESIGN ADVOCATE
Bacalar
Located on the ground floor of a new Page-designed high rise, Bacalar is a neighborhood restaurant inspired by the Yucatan Peninsula region of Mexico. Located on Lady Bird Lake in Austin’s Rainey Street Historic District, the restaurant is a project that was a joint effort with Page and Urbanspace Interiors--a division of the larger developer that only recently had entered the world of hospitality from specifying interior furnishings.
The original plan, developed by Urbanspace Interiors and the selected chef for the restaurant, was reworked extensively by myself and the Project Architect in Austin to fit all of the equipment and functionality needed in the space, code requirements, and to respond to the structural needs and challenges of the space. The two-story, 6,700-square-foot indoor space offers approximately 215 seats and is complemented by two patios that span an additional 2,500 square feet.
We were faced with a host of contractual, practical, and logistical challenges, but I enjoyed working with the team in Austin to work on the project from start to the beginnings of construction administration. We worked well together, and I was able to provide mentorship and guidance on a range of contractual, client management, and technical topics--as well as rolling my sleeves up and diving into the Revit model to work to design, detail, and coordinate the project directly.
