How do you imagine that it should be decorated a restaurant focused on two entirely different cuisines: Japanese and Brazilian? It can be an interesting imagination exercise, isn’t it? With this challenge, El Equipo Creativo designers have confronted, challenge based on the fact that they had to bring together two totally different cultures with specific singularities. The designers had to find solutions and bridges in order to bring together the Japanese minimalism and peace with the lush and lively specific of the Brazilian society. As nature is an important and present element in the two cultures, the idea of creating a landscape became the leitmotif of the Ikibana Restaurant project.
Ikibana, the Japanese floral art from which the name of the restaurant was inspired, implies floral arrangements, that are represented in the same measure, asymmetry and balance between wood, leaves, flowers and colors. Designers have proposed themselves to realize from wood and noble materials an artificial landscape that would give the feeling of continuous movement. It is a winding landscape composed on different programmatic elements or islands. On one hand the bars and kitchens are distributed in different parts of the venue, creating intensity nodes scattered throughout the space. On the other, the guests are placed to sit inside colorful bowls or islands. These islands are embraced by a fluid space which meanders around the restaurant, producing infinite angles of vision and allowing the constant movement of the waiters and clients. The three Ikibana elements articulate the space: The ceiling as a forest full of branches, the green facade soothing the view between interior and exterior, and the color explosion that comes with the tables. Photography: © Adrià Goula
