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By Beverly Pereira Photography: David Rodríguez y Carlos Huecas;courtesyMasquespacio Spanish creative consultancy Masquespacio recreates a traditional Japanese village street in a contemporary sushi bar in Valencia, Spain… Designed to evoke a traditional yet contemporary Japanese ambience, the Nozomi Sushi Bar is an exercise in duality straight from the word ‘enter’. The restaurant’s name translates as ‘high-speed Japanese bullet train’ and ‘fulfilled dream’. This dichotomous representation - as a restaurant that can be identified as an emotional classic with a rational contemporary feel - can be spotted across its interiors and branding. Brainchild of Japanese culture enthusiasts, traditional sushi specialists and entrepreneurs, José Miguel Herrera and Nuria Morell, Nozomi follows a thematic referencing traditional representation that takes off right from the Nozomi logo that employs both Western typography and hiragana (a Japanese script). The duality then transits into the interior design with the 233 sq. m. area coming alive in a grey envelope (walls, ceiling and floors) offsetting intricate Japanese woodwork. A central cube recreating Japanese carpentry creates two corridors and approaches a principal eating lounge, where decorative elements, restrooms and a warehouse create an open-flow environment, typical of Eastern architecture. Akin to the experience of walking on a street in Kyoto, Nozomi’s aesthetics carry metaphorical interpretations of a market, pharmacy and detailed wooden village homes. The reinterpreted rooftops, however, convey modern Japanese aesthetics. Both elements, according to the project’s creative director Ana Milena Hernández Palacios, were a result of the team’s photographic study of streets in Japan, where some of the most traditional homes stand well preserved till date. Guests can enjoy sushi under a cherry tree with origami-inspired flowers that bloom naturally in the central lounge, reminiscent of a Japanese courtyard. But the adjacent wooden-detail sushi bar is a contemporary take on the traditional sushi peddler. Likewise, another distinctive ambience greets one in a private dining space, where Japan’s minimalist sensibility emerge through shadows generated by well-placed lighting that in turn highlights the irregular, unique carpentry. Japanese cuisine has for long tickled global palates, but of late, the sushi-sashimi experience — be it at a fine-dining restaurant in India or a QSR chain in Italy— is often complete with interiors to match. In this case, too, Masquespacio has effectively illustrated its versatility to build from scratch a cultural experience in a foreign land. Click here to view images of the Japanese Restaurant on indiaartndesign.com
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Restaurant design, hospitality, Japanese traditional design, vernacular architecture, Japanese architecture, Japanese carpentry, Japanese woodwork,
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