CORRELATIONS: LIFE + WORK: BENTEL BENTE Format: Hardcover

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.