Correlations: Life + Work Bentel & Bentel Architects

Based in a historically distinguished town near New York City, the firm of Bentel & Bentel Architects has been led for over 50 years by two generations - men and women - of one family. The interweaving of their experiences, lifestyles, and personal philosophies has produced a uniquely elegant series of works including public buildings, restaurants, and hotels. The buildings are equally notable for their thoughtful relationships to the structures they occupy or adjoin, the communities in which they stand, and the experiences of their intended users. Bentel & Bentel's accomplishments reflect not only its cumulative design experience but the insights the partners bring to their work from a variety of related activities: painting, sculpture, dance, design of furnishings, architectural history, and education. Reflecting the lives and accomplishments of the firm's partners, this monograph is composed of three narratives: Who We Are, What We Do, and Who We Were.

Founded in the 1950s by wife-and-husband architects Maria and Fred Bentel, the firm designed numerous residential, educational, and religious buildings, mainly in the New York area. By the 1990s, the founders had been joined by their sons, Paul and Peter, and by Paul’s wife, Carol. As the second generation assumed responsibility, the firm became widely known for exceptional restaurant and hotel interiors, across the United States and abroad, as well as a variety of other commissions.

FOREWORD WHO WE ARE Family Houses Firm and Family Firm and Family: Design Philosophy Firm and Family: The Next Generation WHAT WE DO St. Stephen the First Martyr Church Gramercy Tavern Bethpage Public Library Cor Jesu Academy Parish of the Holy Cross Eleven Madison Park Resource and Image Center, SVA Charapani Craft The Modern Miller Library, Waldorf School Rouge Tomate Red Rock Casino, VIP Suites Axinn Library, Hofstra University W Hotel, Market Restaurant, and Descent Bar Le Bernardin Apella and Riverpark Grand Hyatt Hotel Ground Café, Yale University Hyatt Regency Renwick Gallery Rouge Tomate Chelsea Club 432 41 Linskey Way Couch Academic Center, Webb Institute Palms Casino Resort Hall Arts Hotel Hudson Yards Grill Small Batch Hunter Restaurant 601 Lexington Avenue Atrium Oakland Park Design Guidelines WHO WE WERE Firm and Family Maria Azzarone’s Family Frederick Bentel’s Family Meeting at MIT Early Work in New York City Early Work, 1953–1960 Variations on Modernist Themes, 1960–1970 Suburban Modernism and Community Architecture, 1970–1980 A New Formalism, 1980–1990 Re-establishing the Progressive Ethic ABOUT THE AUTHORS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS