Rojkind arquitectos and ESRAWE Studio have transformed a Mexico City building into the sensational Tori Tori Restaurant & Lounge by designing a metal veil that beautifully envelopes a modern, Japanese-inspired interior.
When Mexico City's acclaimed Tori Tori Restaurant & Lounge outgrew their home, they commissioned rojkind arquitectos to redesign a larger venue in Polanco, a neighbourhood where many residential buildings have recently been transformed to commercial use.
Rojkind retained the façade of the existing multi-storey building but covered it with two self-supporting layers of steel plate that had been cut into a design devoid of repetition but with a uniform shape, giving it a minimalist appearance.
The design responds to windows in the building, allowing additional views through the structure where needed and, at the same time, masking other areas. The effect is organic: a high-tech interpretation of the building’s ivy-covered boundary walls.
The interplay between the design and sunlight adds a dynamic quality to the structure, with a constant changing pattern of shadow and light inside the restaurant. With coloured lighting added at night, the effect is sensational.
The client’s requirement for the project was that the restaurant be given a Japanese-inspired interior. Working with ESRAWE Studio, rojkind’s team avoided a literal interpretation, giving Tori Tori Restaurant & Lounge a personal expression that’s contemporary and cosmopolitan.
The interior of the building was reconfigured to house a reception area, dining spaces, a sake bar an exclusive-use temple. Care was taken to ensure perfect flow between interior spaces and outdoor dining terraces. Each room was given a distinctive character with custom-designed furniture by ESRAWE Studio.
Wood was used in both the interior design and much of the furniture, reinforcing the natural, organic feel of the restaurant. Careful attention was paid to lighting with subtle illumination over bar areas and dining areas, the intensity moderated according to the function of the space.
Michel Rojkind and Gerardo Salinas are partners at rojkind arquitectos. Their award-winning project team was Tere Levy, Agustin Pereyra, Raúl Araiza, Carlos Alberto Rios, Isaac Smeke J., Enrique F. de la Barrera, Daniela Bustamante and Daniel Hernández. ESRAWE Studio’s principal is Héctor Esrawe and their project team was Richard Casas, Basia Pineda, Ian Castillo, Karianne Rygh, Alejandra Castelao, Jorge Branco and Rodrigo L. Franco. The landscape design was by entorno taller de paisaje.