SOKYO
PAUL KELLY DESIGN
The innovative Japanese cuisine for which chef Chase Kojima is renowned is mirrored into the space itself. Lowered ceiling heights and signature dramatic lighting are reminiscent of the glow and shimmer of a modern metropolis. This hyper/real almost dream-like modern Japan, is carried through to manga graphics placed over the Main Bar and secluded seating nooks adding dramatic splashes of highlight colour. But the focus is not solely on the new millennium, there are hints of old Japan as you journey further into the space, but these are not slavish mimicking of cultural iconography, instead they are seen, and re-invigorated through modern eyes. The main dining space is bounded by flax coloured ropes dipped in black ink to form an evocative mountain landscape, and the dramatic sunken dining and semi private dining rooms beyond are glimpsed, but only fleetingly. It is these glimpses that help to heighten the energy/expectations of the space. The diner knows that there are more journeys/experiences to be had, but all is not yet revealed. We would liken it to exploring a new city for the first time, and the joy of discovering what lies around the next bend. What lays beyond for our diner is a lyrical floating cloud of 2000 individual ropes caressing the diner in its soft chrysanthemum folds and into another world. This softness is heightened by the 2 storey bare concrete walls beyond, and is this constant shifting between the urban and natural so much a part of the modern experience of all metropolises, that informs the restaurant design throughout. The project features 3 areas where Japanese Style Anime Dolls have been photographed and have been used as hyper graphics for the project interior. The 2 rope sculptures feature inch thick handmade hemp twine rope hand dipped in India specifically for the project. The project uses 7 kilometres of the product in two separate areas, both hung from the ceiling by fabricators diemme based on design documents by Paul Kelly Design.
