Restaurateur Peter Garland has unveiled a fourth iteration of California bistro and bar Porta Via. Totaling 5,000 square feet, the Palm Desert, California restaurant is also the largest Porta Via location.
Los Angeles-based designer Sophie Goineau drew upon the aesthetics of Desert Modernism to create a dramatic-yet-inviting environment. “We tamed the vibrant colors and impressions of quintessential desert structures in the area—bringing in more wood, earth, and organics that calm down the sun—while enhancing the identity of the existing architecture in respect to the language of Palm Springs,” Goineau says.
In addition to terracotta clay and stucco applications, Porta Via Palm Desert unfolds like a modernist vision with green terrazzo flooring, pistachio leather banquettes, cane rattan seating, retro light fixtures, and vintage floral linens. Various modalities of indigenous wood wrap the interior, from walnut fluted paneling to thermally modified ash and overhead pergola-style screens. Green marble and concrete breezeblocks serve as key aspects of the materiality as well.
Classic elements, like recessed plantings in the floor and banquettes that stretch through the entire interior, inject the nostalgic space with a flair reminiscent of midcentury designers John Lautner and A. Quincy Jones. Floating walls are also featured to establish a more organic flow, while retractable tambour doors on cabinetry and shelving units evoke 1960s casegoods. Charlotte Perriand’s classical outfittings at Le Corbusier were also referenced via box shelving at the recessed bar.
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