HAIKU_RESTAURANT
Haiku is a macrobiotic-vegan organic restaurant, located in the centre of Palermo.
The restaurant was thought as a place to escape from the urban chaos, a place for spending relax moments, tasting refined dishes and to discover the flavours of a quality and healthy cuisine.
The client asked to create a place to express with clarity and coherence the culinary philosophy.
The restaurant develops along a longitudinal axis from the entrance, that sequentially passes through the two main spaces up to the toilet and kitchen.
The first area is a hall for aperitifs, more open to the public, characterized by the stereometric presence of a counter, made of oak slate and waxed iron, and high tables and stools specially designed.
The counter is visually connects the entrance to the main space with a stone lining, the same used for the floor finish.
In a wall of the counter area there is a small waxed iron slit, placed between recessed shelves in the masonry, allowing a visual glimpse of the two rooms.
The connection between the two halls partially reveals the trace of an old arc, whose profile on one side was left uneven, while on the other, it was embedded in the stone lining of the counter area.
The second room, the result of a past combination of two contiguous rooms, is partially covered by the vault of the original structure; next to that was designed a wooden suspended ceiling “L” shaped. This solution also origins by the need to accommodate between the upper floor and the new wooden suspended ceiling, the air-conditioning and ventilation machines with heat recovery.
The shutters that hide the existing windows, were designed with iron frames and linen canvas, in order to allow the passage of light.
In the second room there is a monolith covered with stone, which screens the view (at the man height) towards the access room leading to the bathrooms and to the kitchen. It is a visual and two-faced filter, which is perceived as a pure volume from the room, while it is container from the service hub.
The colors of the materials follow the passage of natural light: from the first airy and open room, gradually passes to the second, less bright and at the same time intimate and collected, until you reach the toilets defined as neutral elements and in one color.
The constructive system is brought to light, showing the ashlars of calcareous stone of the walls when considered coherent with the project design. These are combined with shaved and colored plasters with natural oxides, stone coatings and wood panelling, creating different atmospheres.
A coherent and integral vision has animated all the architectural solutions, the design of customized furnishings made by local craftsmen, and ultimately the graphic design of the logo and menus.
