![Pio Pio Restaurant / Sebastian Marsical Studio - Table, Chair, Beam](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5008/9a31/28ba/0d50/da00/1297/newsletter/stringio.jpg?1414590470)
- Year: 2009
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Photographs:Paul Rivera
Text description provided by the architects. The discovery of a finely crafted wooden box set into an existing building on 10th Ave. immediately defines the initial intentions of this design: mystery, discovery, and contradiction.
![Pio Pio Restaurant / Sebastian Marsical Studio - Beam](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5008/9a26/28ba/0d50/da00/1295/newsletter/stringio.jpg?1414590473)
The visitor enters this rustic wooden box and is removed from the noisy Manhattan streets. An exquisite marble host-table floats within the space enclosed in reclaimed wood. However, this is only a glimpse of what exists beyond. The limited view increases the tension and desire for exploration.
![Pio Pio Restaurant / Sebastian Marsical Studio - Chair](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5008/9a35/28ba/0d50/da00/1298/newsletter/stringio.jpg?1414590483)
In the following space, a sparkling brass vestibule glows within a second wooden box. This stimulating entry leads to a 40-foot, monolithic marble bar resting on a distressed concrete floor. The bar also defines the long corridor towards another space at the end of the restaurant, set at the bottom of a flight of stairs. Here the lights dim and one finds oneself contained in a volume woven entirely in Ocotillo canes. A series of concrete forms simultaneously enclose this main dining hall and integrate it with the various res- taurant services. Once inside, the experience is no longer defined by the relationship of the restaurant with New York City; here the magic belongs to a fantastical experience that is characteristic of Latin America.
![Pio Pio Restaurant / Sebastian Marsical Studio - Table, Wood, Chair, Beam, Brick](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5008/9a3e/28ba/0d50/da00/129a/medium_jpg/stringio.jpg?1414590488)