PROJECTS
A taste of tradition and ancient technique
Nestled in the heart of Saint-Germain-des-Prés in Paris , France , Yoshinori is a new timber-clad gourmet restaurant worth feasting your eyes on .
By Candace Sofianos King | Photos by David Cousin-Marsy
The 70m ² Yoshinori Restaurant was designed by architectural practitioners Alia Bengana and Atelier BEPG . The space consists of two floors , a ground floor and a basement . Characteristic of the neighbourhood in which it is located , the restaurant boasts a stone and wooden structure , visible wooden beams on the ground floor and vaulted stone cellars in the basement .
The restaurant is headed by owner Yoshinori Morié , a Japanese chef who revels in making gourmet French cuisine while bringing a balance of flavours , presentation and technique to his dishes that are very characteristic of his background . Therefore the vision of the architects was to interpret this cultural blending in the conception of the restaurant .
The architectural team researched an element specific to the Japanese aesthetic culture : the whimsical art of wooden screen panels . This traditional Japanese handwork is based on the repetition of a triangular pattern in which motifs are sometimes inserted , which also communicate meanings and wishes .
This design pattern was then made the central theme of the restaurant ’ s interior design – it features on the walls of the ground floor , becomes transparent in the stairway railing and changes scale and shape , transforming itself into a diamond motif for the openwork screens and the glasswork of the semi-open kitchen .
The screens have been given a modern update thanks to digital cutting on lightly bleached medium-density fibreboard oak-plated panels . All of the openwork screens , such as the railing and the glasswork in the kitchen and basement , have been inserted into a steel structure that was oxidised to highlight the raw material , which contrasts with the wood ’ s lace-like quality .
Major construction was carried out to remodel the existing space . There were many demands that had to be met in a space that only measures 70m ², which was a former pizzeria . There were to find places for the kitchen equipment , storage , carts , a refrigerated wine rack and , of course , the tables and seats .
The openwork screens , the cornerstone of the project , were crucial in allowing the architects to define spaces and protect passageways and entrances , creating a feeling of intimacy in every corner of the restaurant . And that ’ s the ancient versatility of timber .
Owned by Japanese chef Yoshinori Morié , the restaurant makes use of inviting timber , including effective and traditional wooden screen panels .
A close-up of the wooden staircase inside Yoshinori .
26 AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2018 //