In Pictures: Dragon Restaurant in Istanbul by GEO_ID
Operating in Istanbul since 1987, Dragon is an acclaimed Chinese restaurant newly opened at their new location in Bebek, İstanbul. Design firm GEO_ID was commissioned to refresh and modernise the interiors, keeping intact the Chinese culture and its exotic feeling of the restaurant.
The qualities of space played a decisive role in design; plan scheme, low ceilings and the view. Light colours are chosen revealing an identity of an authentic Chinese restaurant since darker colours are typical selection in most examples. A palette of beige tones line the restaurant interiors and compensates the flatness caused by the low ceiling while benefiting the view while space is located only meters distance to Bosphorus waters.
Custom-designed tables and chairs are spread across space and are overlooking Bosphorus through restaurant’s generously-glazed facade.
The main seating area features both square and circular tables to accommodate groups with different numbers. An enclosed dining area hidden behind the folding cane with a slightly darker colour sits on the far side and provides intimacy and exclusivity. Intimacy and exclusivity are also highlighted by wooden dragons carved and coated with pearls on the hazeran separators between lodges in the main dining area.
All three lodges are facing a buddha sculpture before the view to bring positive energy and serene ambience as a calm element. While the lighting of the seperators and sculptures had warm LED colours, lodge seating are greeted by metal and silk pendants illuminating space through glass tubes. A geometric pattern design leads the eye upwards; a wooden suspended ceiling is an abstract interpretation of China’s art-deco era movement merged with traditional Chinese motifs. Custom graphics were developed and weaved on textile wall panels; visitors can enjoy reading the Four Seasons in the bar and poems about the Dragon in the private dining area. Although has a long history in craftmanship, Turkey does not have much variety in furniture design; yet, every fixture is custom designed from scratch to the smallest detail for the project and manufactured in Turkey.
Tuğçe Rizeli, founding partner, GEO_ID, commented: “Chinese is one of the most popular cuisines worldwide, and restaurants serving the food showcase vast variety of interiors ranging from traditional to contempo-rary. Yet in Turkey a project like Dragon does not come very often and we were absolutely thrilled to work on the project since as designers it is a chance to explore something truly unique.”
Lukstudio creates a dialogue between the nature and the purpose of a place for Shikaku Restaurant, China
As our world has awakened to its environmental impacts of food delivery, conscientious urbanites seek more sustainable options. Shikaku is a concept born out of this demand. Imagine a chef’s table dining experience at your doorstep; with the use of recyclable bento boxes, there is no guilt of using single-use containers or cutleries. The model combines a quest for quality and environmental stewardship into a convenient meal that’s comparable to home-cooking.
The first location of Shikaku , Huangpu Qu, China is a central kitchen equipped with about 20 seats, allowing dine-in and events. The given site is on the 3rd floor of a mid-rise building along the tree-lined Huashan Road. A series of bay windows comprise the west facade with brise-soleil in front. The view of lush tree canopies, together with dramatic daylight gives the existing site its unique calming atmosphere. In response to the site characteristics and the brand’s operational rigor in practicing a green dining model, Lukstudio explored how to express gentleness with precision in a compact space.
The foyer design is a nod to the tradition of Japanese hospitality. A small zen garden, a light-softening shoji screen, and a stone path of different textures welcome guests into a curated version of nature. Instead of the common use of a wooden frame, the screen is a continuation of the stainless steel ceiling grille, a feature throughout the site signifying the industrial purpose of the place and giving a sense of order.
The original bay windows are transformed into seating niches. Inspired by how a bento box is divided into partitions of various delicacies, each white niche is equipped with a set of wooden furniture, accommodating either individuals, a pair, or a group of diners. A curved wall of perforated panels – partially opens in front of the existing windows – hides the frames and captures one singular focal view. Through the brise-soleil and the gradient perforation, natural light comes in different forms, casting strips or sparkles as the day passes.
More details await at the back of the room. The omnipresent industrial ceiling grille transforms into an ornate screen of gradient intervals. A reflective panel centered above the main dining table mirrors subtle hues of the outside green or the colourful food below, adding an ephemeral spectacle. In the display corner, selected accessories are backlit by soft daylight through translucent glass backing. The shelving in front of the window can slide on a track and hide the existing window from view. Each unit is a galvanised steel frame where wooden boards are held by rack support, fitting in like kitchen equipment.
To offset the cold and inhibiting quality of stainless steel, forms are articulated in different sheens to give a delicate impression. Wooden accents such as recycled flooring, furniture, and door handle are all crucial in achieving a sensual balance. For a quiet ambiance, acoustic absorbent materials are installed behind the perforated panels to reduce noise and reverberation in a working kitchen.
Photo credit: Peter Dixie for LOTAN Architectural Photography
Seasonal restaurant Ellora by Vikas Khanna opens at JA The Resort Dubai
Michelin-star chef Vikas Khanna has announced another culinary collaboration with UAE-based hospitality group JA Resorts & Hotels, with the opening of new seasonal restaurant ‘Ellora by Vikas Khanna’, at JA Beach Hotel in JA The Resort, Jebel Ali Beach Dubai.
Situated in Dubai’s largest experience resort – JA The Resort, Ellora by Vikas Khanna is described as ‘a seasonal culinary experience inspired by the traditional flavours of India’. The new restaurant will be open from August 2020 as a seasonal experience, while signature restaurant Kinara by Vikas Khanna will be temporarily closed throughout the coming months.
Ellora by Vikas Khanna will feature new dishes with seasonal hero ingredients such as green mango, passionfruit and watermelon, as well as the firm fan favourites from the original Kinara menu.
‘Ellora’, meaning caves in Sanskrit, was named by Khanna himself to represent a beacon of positivity and light that shines through darkness. Symbolising the creativity that may be borne of challenging times, the name reflects Khanna’s optimism and commitment in opening a new venture despite the current circumstances.
Vikas Khanna said: “As we were planning the opening of Ellora by Vikas Khanna, I was simultaneously coordinating the Feed India initiative, whereby we organised a supplier network of food and rations and delivered more than 25 million meals to Indian families in need. I was feeling deeply enveloped in the power of food and nourishment on a new level and wanted this emotion to permeate Ellora. I’m truly feeling blessed for both the creations.”
H2R Design gives a contemporary spin to Emirati restaurant Kraz in Sharjah
Kraz is a modern Emirati restaurant located in a residential area in Sharjah. H2R Design firm modernised Kraz in a way that suits the contemporary Emirati lifestyle with a manifestation of the new while appreciating and honouring the traditions and values of older generations through its on-ground ‘majlis’ style seating areas. Modern chairs and tables sprawl across the central area, while the side walls nest majlis cushioned sofas and lowered tables.
Their inspiration for the interior design of the restaurant was influenced by the cosiness of the historical majlis which represents the space for warm gatherings, a place dedicated to important conversations, a dwelling to share food, laughter and memorable moments.
The cultural connection paved the way for the development of the design, ensuring the local flair is represented in detail. Simultaneously, the interior design also takes an understated approach to modernity; adding sophistication and richness with the utilisation of textures.
Key design features include geometric patterns, textured paints, and handmade porcelain wall tiles from Italy. The intricately carved Mashrabiya panels pertaining to the characteristic of Arabic residences are made of wood and placed on the ceiling, walls and also as a hallway divider.
Photography: Alex Jefferies
Glorietta Restaurant by Alexander &CO is about beauty and sustainability
Inspired by the client’s love of all things Italian, Glorietta in Australia is a bar and 220-seat restaurant designed to shape a corporate precinct into a Eurocentric agricultural memory. Glorietta involved the challenging transformation of a stark, voluminous, glass box within a new landmark tower; void of history and restricted by poor street visibility. Sydney-based design firm Alexander &CO took up this challenge and created a contemporary place with relaxed vibes.
The owner had ambitious plans for a new Italian inspired Sydney restaurant and bar: it must be a catalyst for change, inspiring hospitality offerings into a corporate area previously lacking any. Contemporary yet classic, it must be a ‘come for a drink, stay for a meal kinda place’ and create a warm agricultural ancestry and tone, all within the building’s pre-established constraints.
The client was keen to deconstruct the vast, open, and commercial space into separate, more intimate zones to encourage various functionalities and dining options. A key challenge presented itself in the form of the space being void of any existing character; to counterbalance this, zoning was achieved by applying a range of floor treatments to contain each space.
From polished concrete around the bar and northern dining areas to timber boards in the central dining space and concrete slabs surrounding the kitchen, each variation in materials helped to distinguish the separate zones – as well as build personality and interest. The large scale, volume, view, and elevated floor area also became advantages to creating theatre and spatial uniqueness throughout the venue.
In support of this, the clever use of five different seating options further established each zone. From the high timber tables and stools at the bar, long communal tables and the built-in olive-green leather banquettes, rust-red-toned tables, and individual bentwood chairs. Varied seating options offer intimacy and choice depending on patrons dining and drinking needs.
An earthy, organic, and warm palette was achieved via the careful selection of contemporary, yet durable, furnishings ,and fittings. Tonally gentle design elements soften the space. Recycled timber, olive and apricot leathers and tiling, rust-red tables, brass, creams, and wheat-coloured linen curtains encircle the venue, while a vaulted rattan ‘cloudscape’ obscures the impact of the silver ceiling panels and offers yet another layer of warmth and natural texture to the space.
Due to Glorietta’s elevated position, civic scale, and commercial character, the buildings tenancy had no sympathetically inherent texture or softness, no history, and no context on which to draw the design concept from. Faced with a blank canvas and multiple challenges in building an inviting, friendly intimacy and warmth, the team set about crafting a design beneficial to patrons, floor staff, and the wider local community.
Sustainability played an important role too, materials were kept to a minimum, all-natural, designed for longevity, and sustainably harvested where possible. An ingenious, vaulted ‘cloud sky’ of woven rattan covers the majority of the ceiling, providing additional warmth and organic shape while enclosing the whole restaurant by lowering the room-scale and warming the lighting. Rattan is one of the fastest renewable tropical woods available and is manufactured in low-tech non-polluting facilities.
Photo credit: Anson Smart
Broadway Interiors gives New York-style spin to the Black Tap restaurant
Broadway Interiors worked their magic on the Black Tap project in Dubai Mall. Upon arriving the guests would see the interpretation of the original Black Tap Soho shopfront fused with touches of the Black Tap Las Vegas façade, which helps transport its guests to the hustle and bustle of the NYC Boroughs with their individuality and quintessential appearance!
The monochromatic approach of some of New York’s iconic buildings, is developed through the use of block colour, primarily using black and white ceramic tiles, retaining an overall neutral palette, portraying the darker, edgy side of the City. This is then softened by timber tones in a mellow, brown hue, through the furniture and bar frontage.
Chris Barnes, founder and managing director of Broadway Interiors, said: “Focussed lighting takes the form of conical pendants, characterising the New York street lights and bright neon lights, reminiscent of Times Square, add colour, and additional illumination. New original artwork and graphics, have been commissioned to represent the street culture and art capital of the world, representative of the diversity throughout the boroughs of New York from the bronx; birthplace of hip hop and rap, to hip Brooklyn and Manhattan. A new graffiti mural depicting the Statue of Liberty commissioned by a local artist is a feature wall and street music art is visible throughout.”
Two cosy booths inside the speaker portals of a large Boombox adorned with neon decals to emphasise the 90’s retro look of the player, provide Instagram photo opportunities. On the opposite side is another feature wall, each retro cassette carefully stacked on top of each other so the famous tunes of Black tap can be seen. Pick your fondly remembered favourite from the NYC of the 90’s.
The Black Tap milkshakes station is strategically placed along the front of the shop from the Mall entrance, where the milkshakes are created and you can watch this innovative food and drinks art take form. Custom designed shelving, provide additional colourful jar storage and a focal point, with a background that is a stark contrast.
Bishop Design gives relaxed vibes to the Beach Buns restaurant at Atlantis the Palm
Bishop Design delivers Beach Buns restaurant at Iconic Middle Eastern hotel destination Atlantis the Palm that offers up an extensive multitude of entertainment and dining experiences to please every genre of the customer.
Beach Buns is the latest gastronomical addition to the hotel’s renowned array of restaurants. Previously in its place stood a food and beverage outlet, yet the entity did not successfully fulfil the needs of the hotel nor its guests.
Paul Bishop, founder and owner of Bishop Design was commissioned for the renovation of the restaurant as the client desired a venue with much more appealing, desirable, and functional features for the end-user. The built space boasts intelligent design to capture the attention and footfall from passersby. Alluring hints of neon and intriguing typography entice guests into the venue.