Structure studio Al-Jawad Pike drew on wabi-sabi design rules for the Holy Carrot restaurant on London‘s Portobello Street, which options stone, timber and clay plaster.
Based by former Vogue Ukraine producer Irina Linovich, the restaurant was designed with muted tones to amplify the menu’s “vibrant and vigorous” plant-based dishes, which embody elements starting from coral tooth mushrooms to grilled watermelon.
“The temporary known as for a toasty, neutrally toned area influenced by nature and the idea of wabi-sabi,” stated Al-Jawad Pike co-founder Jessam Al-Jawad, referring to the Japanese design philosophy celebrating imperfection and impermanence.
“This palette was additionally impressed by the need to employ supplies that really feel pure and earthy, including a way of curated domesticity to the area,” he instructed Dezeen.
Holy Carrot is unfold throughout a street-level restaurant and basement bogs accessed by way of a flight of low-lit stairs.
The seating space is characterised by undulating partitions clad in a tadelakt, a classic Moroccan lime-based plaster, chosen for its “sleek, visually diverse floor”, stated Al-Jawad.
Cream, white and gray terrazzo flooring enhances this neutral-hued backdrop, whereas a textured clay plaster ceiling was designed with a stippled floor to enhance the area’s acoustics.
On the centre of the restaurant, the studio positioned a curved brushed aluminium bar, which was positioned beneath a geometrical delicate set up that loosely echoes its form.
“We chosen aluminium after an intensive seek for a fabric that may distinction with but complement the pale partitions and flooring,” thought of Al-Jawad.
“This materials, being lighter and softer in tone than metal, allowed us to introduce a reflective, useful floor with pure variations,” he added.
Bulky walnut eating tables and black-stained chairs have been positioned all through the seating space, including a “heavier distinction” to the restaurant’s extra natural kinds. A immense rounded skylight floods the again of the area with pure delicate.
Downstairs, the bogs function a moodier antidote to the impartial ground above. The cavernous partitions and ceilings have been completed in earthy pink clay, whereas a hefty slab of pink travertine was chosen for the built-in sinks.
Amorphous mirrors are illuminated by slender tubular sconce lights that emit a tender glow.
“We wished to offer the area a grounded, carved-from-the-earth really feel,” stated Al-Jawad. “The bogs have been designed as an intense, nearly womb-like area to supply a way of theatre for diners.”
“The earthy tones of pink and pink aid to create a toasty and sensual ambiance, providing a novel distinction to the remainder of the area,” added Linovich.
Recognized for its refined materials and color palettes, Al-Jawad Pike just lately gained the 2024 Neave Brown Award for Housing for the Chowdury Stroll housing improvement in Hackney. The studio beforehand utilized pigmented concrete blockwork to the outside and inside of a Peckham home extension.
