Located in the heart of New York’s bustling Rockefeller Center, Five Acres brings Chef Greg Baxtrom’s defining creative, seasonal ethos to Manhattan for the first time. Each element of the restaurant, from the intimate private dining room built with wood from Greg’s family farm to the ethereal design of the dining room filled with vibrant greenery and natural textures, nods to his family’s 5 acres farm right outside of Chicago. Watson Salembier's planting design hangs from above as well as surrounds the restaurant, forming a lush oasis in the center of Rockefeller Center's concourse. 

 

The project draws inspiration from the symbiosis of forest ecosystems. On the forest floor, ferns offer texture and fullness, while mosses absorb and retain water and nutrients, which helps plants grow. This native landscape palette is rich, soft, elegant, organic. Akin to the forest floor, the concept of symbiosis imagines a space that is connected and alive like the fungal mycelium networks that travel beneath the trees, allowing for a social network of roots. Symbiosis in the planting, material finishes, lighting, and farm-to-table cuisine, will create a holistic and immersive experience. 

 

The zero light conditions of the subterranean space offer an opportunity to use indoor grow lights as a signature and performative feature. Inspired by the rich, shaded conditions of the North Eastern forest landscapes, we envision the introduced planting layers to form a green veil. Its design will combine overhead shelves, enclosed vessels or vivariums, and raised planters. Overhead shelves will expand the planes upon which the green veil can inhabit. Elegant vessels akin to enclosed terrariums or vivariums will speak to the farm-to-table meets art deco spirit, and function as playful and experiential microecosystems. Raised planters accentuate the thresholds of the space and ground the green veil. The green veil will be an immersive sensory experience, of light, sight, sound, touch, that will compliment the immersive olfactory, auditory, and digestive experience of Olmsted, Greg Baxtrom’s other notable restaurant.