Designed by Vancouver-based Ste. Marie, The Botanist is a Grande Cafe by way of the Pacific Northwest – a place where one can take breakfast, lunch, dinner or drinks.

With an overall sense of refined conviviality being the end-goal of the design, The Botanist was conceived of as a series of micro-ecologies within the overall concept of a space rooted in the terra firma of the Pacific Northwest. Through shifts in the intensity of texture, material and light, each space occupies a distinct layer in the sequence of the spatial narrative. The bar is monolithic and sculptural, its shelves and mantles offer alternating references to early modernism and the powerful architecture of the quarry.

The garden, the most intense expression of botany, is overstuffed, brimming over with plant species. Enclosed inside a minimal glass room, the striking and peregrine beauty of the plant life is exhibited. In the dining room, the focus becomes the subtle but rich, natural tones of limestone, granite, and wood. These materials are stacked, blocked, layered and deposited into service stations that evoke compositions almost mineral in nature. Throughout the entire space, plant life acts as a gentle counterpoint to the substantial and geological character of the materials.

“We have divided the space into quarters – with each area having a bit of its own personality,” said the design team. “The Champagne lounge, umbilically connected to the hotel lobby has a kind of “pop” sensibility while still leaning into the glamour inherent in a room focused on that regal French fluid. Knife pleated drapery, Rose coloured furniture and well-appointed gold-decked bar carts do the job of keeping things proud yet playful in this area.”

The Cocktail bar, on the other hand, is monolithic, with a darker palette of Italian Terrazzo as the backdrop for the beautiful and nuanced drinks being built by the fellows with the long spoons therein. Next to the cocktail bar is a small terrace and interior garden where the plant-life is the overwhelming focus. Finally, we hit the dining room with its mixture of various limestones, whitewashed woods and ornate metalwork from which our collection of indigenous plant materials creep. This room is the belly of the restaurant and is intended to be an invigorating place to gather, dine and drink.

With Branding and Graphic Design undertaken by Ste. Marie’s long-term collaborators at Glasfurd & Walker, The Botanist walks the line between irreverent and poised. Just the way we like it.

[Images courtesy of Ste. Marie. Photography by Ema Peter, Luis Valdizon, Chris Amat & Ian Lanterman.]