FLAMES WHAMPOA
Restaurant | Hong Kong | 2021
Client: FLAMES
Interior Designer: METAGRAM
LightOrigin Studio Design Team: Eugenia Cheng, Renee Chow, Fai Leung, Oliver Cruz
Photography: METAGRAM
Hong Kong Design Driven x Design Award 2021: Silver
Design
Flames Whampoa is the third restaurant by the Flames brand in Hong Kong. Metagram's brief was to establish an iconic visual identity which could solidify the visual outlook of the brand's restaurants.
Both the founders of Metagram and Flames shared a background of living in Sydney, Australia. This nostalgic synergy created a consensus that the outcome of the design should simulate the wonderful Australian dining experiences fondly remembered by both parties.
Metagram proposed the target of achieving a distinctly Australian dining experience using only atmospheric design strategies and materials, whilst avoiding literal references, such as pictures or cultural objects.
For full Designer Statement check here
Lighting
Inspired by Australian beachside dining, the lighting design of Flames is a matrimonial celebration between natural and artificial lighting. Various lighting techniques were implemented to create different lighting layers, adding visual volume to the space.
The interior space by day is graced with a generous flow of natural light, and by night a gentle spill of artificial street and commercial illumination. Different lighting scenes are introduced for smooth transition between day to night, and accomodate different functions.
Upon entry, guests are greeted by the restaurant's central ceiling suspended oculus with light tubes. The eye-catching lighting feature has dual purpose: provide a soft veil of general illumination whilst distracting guests from the open ceiling's organised chaos. Warm-toned downlights accentuated the fine-grain textures and vibrant colours of the highly featured Australian sandstone, increasing visual depth. The fiddle-leaf fig trees illuminate and liven the fiddle-left fig trees during evening dining. Carefully placed wall lamps create light layers on the different interior surfaces. Narrow-beamed downlighting accents each table, creating an intimate yet cozy atmosphere.
The high CRI luminaires are chosen to ensure each and every carefully curated dish and its ingredients are rendered to its true colours and aesthetics.
