YUNOMI downtown
Los Angeles, California
Type
Temaki Bar
1,500 SF
Size
Built
Status
AIA|LA Restaurant Design Awards
Awards
The overhead light, the soft edges of the bar, and the warm color palette make for a comfortable seating area, resulting in a calm and unostentatious environment that is full of Japanese elements and tradition.juxtaposes the traditional materials.
The design features Kawara, traditional Japanese roofing tiles, on the interior walls, evoking the ambiance of a Japanese village, while the dark bronze metal soffit, suspended by reclaimed Hinoki (Japanese cypress), offers a contemporary touch with its gentle curves and continuous LED strip that contrast beautifully with the traditional materials. Additionally, the service window, inspired by the topography of rice terraced fields, is a digitally fabricated piece of functional art that pays homage to the surrounding neighborhood.
The tiled wall is gently interrupted by a wooden frame, displaying over-head decor and housing the unisex bathroom installations. The concrete curving walls enclose the semi-private bathroom amenities.
To reflect the chef’s extensive study of traditional Japanese Washoku style hospitality and Omakase (chef’s choice style service), our design sets-out to create a space where the past meets the present. Thus, our design is inspired by the older structures of a Japanese Village but with a minimalistic approach, that create artistic interventions which places the project back in context with its Art’s District Neighborhood and Era.
To create a traditional yet contemporary dining experience, we reference the past through the use of materials that are full of character and tradition such as Kawara (Japanese Roofing Tiles), Hinoki (Japanese Cypress) Reclaimed Wood, and a Worn Plaster Wall Finish. We bring these old world elements to our epoch by using them unexpectedly in our Roof Tiled Walls, Curbed Bar, Metal Soffit, and a Pass-through Window.
Merit Award recipient in the Restaurant category of the AIA|LA Restaurant Design Awards 2022