New York City, New York
Role: Junior Designer as part of Studio Tack team; Staging & Styling for Photoshoot
Scope: Restaurant Buildout: 12 Seat Kaiseki Restaurant
Photographer: Read McKendree
Project Narrative
Tsukimi offers a modern take on kaiseki, a traditional multi-course Japanese dinner. The name “Tsukimi” literally translates to “moon viewing” and refers to a mid-autumn harvest festival honoring the moon is at its fullest and brightest. Humble but not austere, simple but not lacking, we imagined a space that is elegant and finished. Precisely arranged along a central counter, diners sit in framed seats, a move that symbolizes concepts of permanence and place. The feeling here is that everything has been designed with purpose - from the menu to your seat to the way staff circulate the room.
Like the ingredients used here, the materials are of high quality and treated in a way that reveals their natural features. Hand-rendered plaster and unlacquered brass will age gracefully and naturally. The lighting is designed to be viewed in the same way the Japanese approach the moon viewing during Tsukimi - that is, indirectly, by looking at its reflection in water or its diffusion of light across the landscape.