A Cedar-Clad Culinary Pavilion at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort.

GRAY AWARDS
21 hours ago
3 min read

Ghost Tree Grill by Scott Edwards Architecture is a finalist in the 8th annual GRAY Awards in the Hospitality Design breakout category.

Modern house illuminated at dusk, surrounded by trees in a grassy area. Soft blue sky contrasts with warm interior lighting. Peaceful ambiance. GRAY Awards. GRAY magazine. Hospitality design.

FINALIST

Breakout category: Hospitality

Designer: Scott Edwards Architecture

Photographed by: Andrew Pogue

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SUBMISSION

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Bandon Dunes Golf Resort is widely regarded as one of the world’s best places to play golf. Rugged coastal cliffs, rolling sand dunes, and towering evergreens make this Oregon destination unlike any other. The design of Ghost Tree Grill, a new restaurant on the Old Macdonald course, contextualizes the building within the landscape and the resort’s existing architecture while informing a path forward for potential future development. Elements like an asymmetrical gabled roof, cedar cladding that will weather elegantly with time, and walls of windows providing sweeping views of the course all contribute to a contemporary design vernacular still reminiscent of historic coastal influences. Ghost Tree Grill’s careful placement within the site and awareness of the surrounding activity seamlessly integrate the lively, welcoming restaurant into the fabric of this world-renowned resort.

Modern wooden house with large windows in a grassy field, surrounded by tall pine trees under a clear blue sky. Calm and serene setting.

Ghost Tree Grill is nestled into a hillside and visible down the fairway from Old Macdonald’s 18th hole, a welcome sight for golfers as they complete the course. The thoughtful placement is an invitation to continue the day’s fun by enjoying upscale food and beverages in an energetic environment. The restaurant features indoor and outdoor spaces for dining, relaxing, and socializing, and offers views of the course and the restaurant’s iconic namesake, Ghost Tree. Ghost Tree is a 50- to 60-foot Port Orford Cedar that is no longer alive but still stands on a ridge overlooking the third fairway.

The architectural approach deliberately contrasts subtlety with awe to create an experience. The entry brings to mind a portal—visitors enter the restaurant through an understated, cedar-clad wall, and as they move further into the building, the space opens up to show a vibrant dining room, a central bar featuring a live-edge wood top, and expansive views of the golf course beyond. This purposeful reveal uses design to elicit the feeling of arriving somewhere that is significant and immersive.

Ghost Tree Grill’s centerpiece bar flows from the interior to the exterior. A large floor-to-ceiling board-formed concrete fireplace separates the bar from the formal dining area, and a white-tiled open kitchen and raw bar provide diners with a glimpse of the back-of-house activity. The restaurant’s two wings extend perpendicular to the main space, and each wing’s walls of windows create a glassy jewel box that feels like part of the golf course. The wings shape an outdoor courtyard in between that offers seating for dining and a fire pit. The restaurant also has a private dining space.

Like the exterior, the interior’s material palette is rooted in place. Traditional steakhouse booths are expressed in mossy green and mushroom leather, all hand-tufted and custom-designed in slightly relaxed silhouettes. The earthy, warm palette continues in the end-grain Douglas fir flooring, leather bar seats, and wood tabletops. Natural green tile detail connects to the lush exterior. Oversized, industrial-style pendants hang throughout the space, helping to highlight the cathedral-height ceilings. A custom-designed, 1000-bottle wine library flanks a second dining area and doubles as a service station.

The restaurant is organized to offer different experiences even for the most frequent visitors, inviting guests to sit at the bar, in comfortable booths, next to the fireplace, or at tables large or intimate, depending on the occasion. Staff experience is prioritized in the restaurant’s organization as well, with thoughtful arrangements of dining zones and substantial back-of-house spaces incorporated in the design to support the delivery of exceptional fine dining.

Ghost Tree Grill embraces the storied setting of this premier golf destination, using design to create a hospitality experience worthy of the Bandon Dunes Golf Resort and the unmatched natural landscape surrounding it.

DESIGN TEAM:

Rick Berry, Principal, Lead Design

Jason Wesolowski, Principal, Project Manager

Sarah Cantine, Architect

Bob Carbaugh, Architect

Tristan Magnuson, Designer

COLLABORATORS:

Harmon Construction, General Contractor

EDG Design, Interior Design

Interface Engineering, MEP Engineer

Catena Consulting Engineers, Structural Engineer

i.e. Engineering, Civil Engineer

Bargreen Ellingson, Kitchen Equipment Consultant

DESIGNER PROFILE:

Scott Edwards Architecture is a collaborative, people-first architecture firm with a design approach that puts the vision, goals, and needs of the people they design for at the heart of their creative process. The firm is led by ten partners and has provided architecture, interior design, and planning services throughout the Northwest on a wide range of project types since 1998. Scott Edwards Architecture draws from hospitality, multi-family, civic, healthcare, education, commercial, community, houses, and planning experience to add a thoughtful, well-rounded perspective to each project.

The 8th Annual GRAY Awards is sponsored by: