When Michelin-starred chef Marco Gubbiotti first showed UK-based designLSM the venue that was to be his first Asian venture, the space was windowless and had very little natural light coming through. It also had a low fixed-height ceiling.

This made the brief – to create an elegant and chic restaurant that reflected Gubiotti’s fine regional Italian cuisine – all the more challenging.

Undaunted, designLSM partnered with Into Lighting to orchestrate a series of inventive design solutions.

The overall lighting scheme plays on layers of warm light. Bespoke ‘halo’ lighting fixtures span the entire ceiling in the main room. Within the shallow bowl-shaped fixtures are Flexible Luci-Led strips, concealed by a mirrored panel that gives the illusion of an increased ceiling height.

Between the ceiling halos, surface mounted, low-glare fittings from Precision illuminate the dining tables, while long snoot and honeycomb louvre accessories ensure minimal glare, even when the lights illuminate the tables at an angle.

The DMX dimming control system from Lutron also ensures that illumination can be controlled, as lighting needs change throughout the day.

In addition, Enigma Lighting was enlisted to realise a series of bespoke decorative fixtures that would complement the existing restaurant design.

The first of these can be found at one end of the restaurant bar where a steel framework in powder coated gold finish supports a black dupion silk shade. This structure is repeated at the other end of the bar, though this time the frame holds incandescent architectural tube lamps.

Above the server counter, Enigma Lighting has also created a series of custom brass lamp holders with twisted braid silk flexes for a touch of luxury.

Other significant lighting features include a line of Artek Golden Bell A330s that were originally designed by Alvar Aalto in 1954, and Swarovski Sinar 100MM pendants.

ll Milione is a shortlist at this year’s Restaurant & Bar Design Awards (RABDA), lighting category. Click here to see our report on the awards.

designLSM
designlsm.com

Into Lighting
into.co.uk