INTERIOR | HONOR

Entry Name: teppan yaki
Firm: RBA
Owner: Kobe
Photographer: Assassi

Teppanyaki Steak House: Teppanyaki means "pan-fried on a iron grill" in Japanese. More than a style of preparing food, teppanyaki is food prepared with style. When an experienced chef steps behind the hot plate the simple act of cooking seems more like high art. The hibachi grill is placed in the middle of a U-shaped table, allowing up to 12 guests to enjoy the cooking show performed by the teppanyaki chef. Sitting right in front of the grill allows all of the guests to be where the action is: from the flaming fire, to the erupting volcano made up of onion slices to juggling eggs in the air and chef's expert knife skills.

The owners of a local Japanese steakhouse presented the challenge to our team to design a restaurant building and interior that enhances their theatrical cooking business. Our solution was based on the understanding that the eye influences the palate. Presentation not only includes the way food is placed on the grill and on the plate, but also the cleanliness of the surrounding area. The spatial organization divided the restaurant into four zones: kitchen, bar/waiting, primary dining room and the secondary dining room (which is closed off and invisible on less crowded days). A minimal Zen philosophy guided the integration of materials, pure geometry and nature. Concrete, steel, brick, bamboo and basic horizontal forms interact to achieve austerity in the space. To create a variety of experiences, many materials and textures were designed to create a variety of backdrops for the hibachi tables.

The building creates a dialogue with the site and neighborhood; large windows connect inside to outside allowing views of the cooking show to the people walking by.

Jury Comments: Processional quality appropriate to a Japanese restaurant. Spaces between become important – rooted in Japanese thought (Engawa – meaning “space between”). Artificial lighting – fixtures are not exposed. Quite often in restaurants the aesthetic of strong linearity, in terms of surface texture, has been done a lot in the past decade and can become overwhelming, but they used it in a discretionary manner. Each zone has a distinct characteristic, but they integrate very well.