Delicacy in the menu doesn’t preclude drama in the venue. The open kitchen mimics a Noh theatre stage. It’s partly out of necessity – the interior designer had to work around the heritage-listed Harry Seidler base design. The raised kitchen is topped by a burnt timber canopy, housing near invisible glare-free downlights providing focused light to the chef’s workbench below. 4x custom crackle-glass lanterns sit at the front of the kitchen bench, reminiscent of vintage stage foot-lighting – adding weight to the kitchen theatrics.
Extending above the entire main dining hall sits a geometric kumiko-inspired soffit, nestled between the expressed Seidler ‘star’ structure. A custom designed LED panel-light system provides a homogenous glow behind the CNC cut panelling and a jig-saw arrangement of acrylic diffusion sheeting (to avoid visible joints), creating a theatrical but ambient layer of light. This layer provides a powerful statement on the base architecture, with a depth and luminosity that varies throughout the day. Sitting in the shadows between the structure and kumiko panelling are miniature lensed tracklights focusing light onto the tables below to give each table it’s own intimate accent.
Enter the curved side corridor and you are led by the silhouetted framing to the private dining room, decorated with a custom sculptural hanging glass light feature that mimics falling autumn leaves. The sculpture creates both dappled spotlighting to the marble table and a high-end VIP ambience to this intimate space.
A DALI-based lighting control system provides flexibility of the scheme from day to night, with continuing variation to ensure the space is expressed as a lantern through the glazed outer partitions.
