Creating a sensory dining experience that fuses Japanese and Australian culture – rather than a “mock tradition” – Ishizuka by Russell & George transports diners while keeping their feet on the ground.
The obvious solution is seldom exciting. When the Japanese restaurant Ishizuka opened in Melbourne, the easiest design conceit would have been to pump it full of tradition – a direct visual link to the Kaiseki-style menu. But the team at Russell & George preferred a more distinctive point of view, opting instead for a playful, hybrid setting for a decidedly non-hybrid menu. “As the Melbourne context is a global one, we [knew] mock tradition wouldn’t work because a savvy diner can just go to Tokyo for that experience,” says Ryan Russell, director at Russell & George. “Evoking a memory of Japan was the starting point, but one that would be more atmospheric than literal.”
A large, egg-shaped lantern greets diners and cocoons the space with its encompassing scale, back-lighting a pattern of floral shadows. Beneath this, a subtly raised floor provides an important function – unusual in Kaiseki dining – of allowing guests to sit on chairs rather than raised bar stools. Throughout the darkly lit space, reimagined Japanese motifs are overlaid with references to more natural Australian landscapes. Traditional details are tempered with the relaxed dining overtures of the local context. The result of this precise yet abstracted pairing of cultures is an unexpected, unique and complete ode to not one, but two types of richness.
We think you would like this story on Japanese design. And for regular insights and updates, join our mailing list.
INDESIGN is on instagram
Follow @indesignlive
A searchable and comprehensive guide for specifying leading products and their suppliers
Keep up to date with the latest and greatest from our industry BFF's!
In this candid interview, the culinary mastermind behind Singapore’s Nouri and Appetite talks about food as an act of human connection that transcends borders and accolades, the crucial role of technology in preserving its unifying power, and finding a kindred spirit in Gaggenau’s reverence for tradition and relentless pursuit of innovation.
In design, the concept of absence is particularly powerful – it’s the abundant potential of deliberate non-presence that amplifies the impact of what is. And it is this realm of sophisticated subtraction that Gaggenau’s Dishwasher 400 Series so generously – and quietly – occupies.
To honour Chef James Won’s appointment as Gaggenau’s first Malaysian Culinary Partner, we asked the gastronomic luminaire about parallels between Gaggenau’s ethos and his own practice, his multidimensional vision of Modern Malaysian – and how his early experiences of KFC’s accessible, bold flavours influenced his concept of fine dining.
Terrai by Sona Reddy Studio translates the cultural identity of Telangana into a dining experience through regional materials, craftsmanship and contemporary design.
This fine-dining restaurant by Studio Dashline comprises a fluid layout that improves social interaction and the overall dining experience.
The internet never sleeps! Here's the stuff you might have missed
With craftsmanship and contemporary form at its core, Boyac and Origine present a special showcase as part of Melbourne Design Week.
As a UNESCO Creative City of Craft and Folk Art, Ballarat is hosting Craft Lab and The Great Takeaway this month. Nicole Durling, Executive Director at Craft Victoria, tells us more.