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      Akram Fahmi gives Etch restaurant monochrome revamp to reflect two-ingredient dishes

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      Interior designer Akram Fahmi has revamped the Etch restaurant in Hove, East Sussex, creating black and white interiors to reflect its minimalist menu.

      Located in a space that was originally a bank, Etch was first renovated and opened as a restaurant in 2017.
      It has been reimagined by Fahmi, the founder of interiors studio London Design House, with an open kitchen and subterranean speakeasy bar.
      Two modern arches were added to complement the three period arches of the existing buildingFahmi chose the simple colour palette to echo the approach of the restaurant’s menu, where most of the dishes are comprised of just two ingredients.
      Wide-plank chalk-washed timber floors and white walls contrast black banquette seating and timber framing.

      “We identified, and tried to achieve, three key principles in the design; refinement, texture, and locality,” Fahmi told Dezeen.
      Black-framed windows stand in stark contrast to the white interior wallsRough quarry tiles, matte-finished stone and sinuous stretched-fabric lighting were chosen to reflect the textures of the nearby South Downs, the coastline and the urban landscape.
      “The balance in texture and tone is key to the guests’ journey through every space in the restaurant and bar,” Fahmi explained.
      The renovation involved merging two ground-floor units together and uniting a single space that is flooded by natural light from five arched windows.
      The lighting fixtures continue the monochrome themeThe studio kept three original Victorian arched windows on the corner and added two further full-height arches with modernised detailing to create a uniform facade.
      This was further united by painting the whole ground-floor facade charcoal grey.
      The subterranean speakeasy is decorated all in black with dramatic lighting”You want to feel as though the architecture and interiors that you journey through are as curated and elegant as the food in front of you,” Fahmi said.
      Internally, cast iron columns from the old bank were retained and suspended ceilings in the main spaces were stripped out to expose the original high ceilings.
      Stretched lampshades recall the nearby coastal landscapeFahmi worked with the local council to find solutions for extract routes and plans that would “retain and respect the fabric of the historic building as much as possible”.
      The studio used passive devices, such as tinting the glazing to reduce solar glare, to help control the internal temperature more efficiently.

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      New external planting troughs soften the austere facade and hard pavement. The studio chose plants, herbs and grasses that would be suitable for the local coastal environment.
      London Design House also worked with local craftspeople and suppliers on the project to reflect Etch’s ethos of sourcing its produce locally and seasonally.
      A speakeasy bar is underneath the restaurant”I wanted the restaurant to feel like an extension of the food and service we offer, which I would describe as British contemporary, but also minimalist  – mainly using two quality ingredients,” Etch’s chef and owner Steven Edwards told Dezeen.
      The monochrome palette “gives a slightly nordic minimalist feel that works completely with my food style,” he added.
      “I think the relationship between the food you eat and the setting you eat it in is really important. It’s not just about the food – although it’s hard for me to say that being a chef!”
      Other restaurant interiors recently featured on Dezeen include Studio Becky Carter’s “distinctly New York” interiors for Cecchi’s and Otherworlds’ transformation of a Goan villa into restaurant.
      The photography is by Justin de Souza and David Charbit.

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      Dorothée Meilichzon nods to Alice in Wonderland for Cotswolds hotel interior

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      French interior designer Dorothée Meilichzon has created the interior for boutique hotel Cowley Manor Experimental, adding chequerboard details and hidden keyholes to the rooms of the former country house.

      Meilichzon drew on the history of the Cowley Manor Experimental, which is said to have inspired author Lewis Carroll to write Alice in Wonderland, when designing the interior for the hotel.
      According to the hotel, Caroll was walking in the gardens of the then Cowley Manor with Alice Liddell – for whom he wrote Alice in Wonderland – when he saw a rabbit disappear down a hole under a hedge.
      Nodding to the chessboard around which the classic story is constructed, Meilichzon designed bespoke chequerboard carpets that were produced by Hartley & Tissier.
      The designer added baldachin beds and colourful accents to the bedroom suites”Alice is subtly spread all over the place,” the designer told Dezeen.

      “Small doors are hidden in the rooms for the White Rabbit, there are hidden keyholes, rabbit ears, hearts and spades on the checkerboard carpet,” she explained.
      “We have used the checkerboard in many ways: hand-painted, tiled, on fabrics and wallpaper.”
      Touches of rattan, mixed with strong colour, glossy lacquer and lava stone feature throughout the 36-room hotel. Large bedroom suites have baldachin beds and interiors accented with blurred maple and verdigris.
      The games room features chequerboard rugsThe project, which Meilichzon designed for Experimental Group, saw her update an existing hotel at the site, which sits within 55 acres of Cotswolds countryside. The hotel also incorporates a spa, restaurant, cocktail bar, lounge, library and living rooms.
      Other than respecting the heritage-listed elements of the property, Meilichzon had full design freedom.
      Heritage-listed elements of the existing Cowley Manor were preserved”Historical buildings are something we are used to; we work a lot in Europe and often in very old buildings,” the designer said.
      “So we always try to respect them and start from there: the shape of the space, an architectural detail, a listed element.”

      Hotel Il Palazzo Experimental designed to be “deeply rooted” in its Venetian setting

      Meilichzon combined classical and contemporary elements, keeping all historical listed elements from the building, such as doors, wooden panels and windows.
      However, she added “some modernity through the furniture, the geometric patterns and colours,” she said.
      Hearts derived from the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland are worked into the stair carpet”Colour is everything, I am really not a grey and beige person,” explained Meilichzon.
      The hotel also features a restaurant and cocktail bar by chef Jackson Boxer that is focused on Cowley Manor’s kitchen garden, which has increased in size and is growing wider varieties of produce. The cocktail bar features a lacquered blue bar and tables.
      The bar has blurred walnut panelling and blue lacquered tablesMeilichzon, founder of Paris-based design agency Chzon, is a frequent collaborator of Experimental Group and has designed the interiors for several of its properties.
      “I see my work for Experimental Group as separate pieces but with a common DNA – the same hand. Because they are context-based, a hotel in Menorca cannot look the same as one in Venice or in the Cotswolds,” she said.
      Earlier this year, she gave a bohemian refresh to Ibiza’s first hotel, now called the Montesol Experimental, and has also renovated a Belle Epoque-era hotel in Biarritz, France.
      The photography is by Mr Tripper.

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      Dion & Arles creates “salon in which you can dine” for Il Gattopardo restaurant

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      French design and interiors studio Dion & Arles drew on the work of 20th-century Italian designers Carlo Mollino and Gio Ponti for the interior of Mayfair restaurant Il Gattopardo in London.

      “We envisioned Il Gattopardo to be a salon in which you can dine – not just a restaurant,” the designers told Dezeen.
      The studio looked to Mollino’s apartment in Turin for its balance between modernity and heritage.
      The inner dining room has curved crushed-velvet seating and a large fireplace”Modernity, heritage and sophistication are the three elements we think together define the Italian sensibility, which we tried to translate into the interiors,” Dion & Arles said.
      Il Gattopardo – which is Italian for leopard – is located in Mayfair in central London and aims to “celebrate the golden era of mid-century Italian design in an intimate setting” across five dining spaces, the studio said.

      The main dining room and crudo bar lead through to an inner dining area and second bar, which in turn reveals the intimate “salon”, or living room, which seats 10 people in soft-upholstered armchairs.
      Banquette seating is complemented by groupings of tables and chairsThere is a separate private dining room on the lower ground level.
      The salon room is characterised by crushed-velvet curved seating and a substantial fireplace featuring a bas-relief on its canopy.
      Tables are topped with sepia drawings after artist Piero Fornasetti, which complement the muted amber seating.
      Blue panthers feature on the walls in the entrance spaceIn the main dining room, banquette seating has been kept to a minimum, with tables and chairs otherwise arranged in close groupings.
      A signature leopard print motif appears on rugs, cushions and artworks in various tones ranging from amber to blue.
      “Each project should belong to its specific location,” the studio said.
      “We do not believe in cloning, as it gives the feeling of being everywhere, anywhere. We are trying to make people feel they are in a unique space that cannot be found anywhere else; ‘somewhere’ that belongs to ‘someone.”
      An Italian stone crudo bar sits in the corner of the dining roomThe spaces are decorated with an eclectic mix of free-form sculptures, objets, lamps, picture frames and carpets in vibrant colours.
      These “speak to the influence of the master of Italian flair, the interior designer and architect Gio Ponti,” the studio said.
      A striped fabric informed by the linings of Italian tailoring covers the ceiling. Panelled walls are intended to mimic the dashboard of a vintage Fiat coupé and, in the corner, Italian stone tops the crudo bar.

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      Informed by the eclectic, mix’n’match style of Mollino’s apartment, the private dining room – which features a leopard-print carpet from French interior designer Madeleine Castaing – was designed to feel like a secret refuge.
      “We see patterns as a variation of colour which add density to the palette,” the designers said. “We generally prefer to work with a small-scale pattern, which is less intrusive.”
      The private dining room has soft lighting diffused through fabricClassical sepia frescoes run around the wall of the private dining room above rich navy blue, textured fabric panels.
      Soft lighting is diffused through fabric resting between the ceiling beams, which was designed to mimic a sunset. An illuminated onyx bar adds to the warm lighting scheme.
      The crudo bar has a polished wood-panelled ceilingDesigning the interiors of Il Gattopardo was “a dream commission” the studio said, as it gave it the opportunity to work in a style the designers love.
      “We are always referring to earlier periods when every house and family inherited antique furniture and juxtaposed it with futuristic pieces,” the studio said.
      Reference points for the space also included project by interior designer David Hicks and movies by director Stanley Kubrick.
      “We don’t have rules and we like to take inspiration from great painters, as in most recent compositions by Peter Doig, or the way [Pedro] Almodóvar approaches colour in his films,” the studio added.
      “Everything can go together; bad or good taste is merely a place of refuge for under-confidence. Walking along the borders of taste is more exciting to us.”
      Other restaurant interiors recently featured on Dezeen include GRT Architects’ “vacation Italian” restaurant in New York and Lorenzo Botero and Martín Mendoza’s conversion of a Bogotá residence into a brick-lined restaurant.
      The photography is by James McDonald.

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      Home Studios utilises reclaimed timber for Montauk restaurant renovation

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      Brooklyn-based Home Studios has renovated a bar and restaurant in Montauk, using materials like white-washed plaster, glazed tiles and reclaimed timber for a “deliberately minimal approach”.

      Formerly known as Bird on the Roof, the establishment reopened as The Bird earlier this year with refreshed interiors by Home Studios.
      The bar and restaurant areas at The Bird are connected through a cased openingThe space is run by the team behind the Daunt’s Albatross motel, located across the street, which Home Studios overhauled the previous year. The menu was created by chef Marcos Martinez Perez and a beverage programme by Sophia Depasquale.
      “[The clients’] intent was to celebrate the legacy of a 40-year-old adored Montauk establishment, imbuing a familial sense of warmth and hospitality threaded throughout the experience and the design,” said the team.
      Reclaimed timber clads the back bar, while white tiles cover the front of the counter”The aim of the space is to capture the spirit of old Montauk, providing a welcoming home-away-from-home for both visitors and locals to gather at any hour and any season.”

      Located in the town centre, the A-frame building that houses the restaurant has a white bird painted on the side of its roof – hence the original name.
      Red brick flooring is laid in a basketweave bond in the barThe interior is divided in two, with the bar area on one side and the restaurant on the other, connected through a cased opening.
      A muted colour palette across the spaces echoes that used at Daunt’s Albatross and is based on the natural coastal surroundings.
      A similar muted palette continues into the dining roomHome Studios describes it as “a spectrum of whites, warm grays, browns, faded yellows, rusts and ocean blues”.
      In the bar area, red bricks are laid in a basketweave pattern across the floor, and the russet hue is continued by the leather that covers the built-in seating and stool tops.
      Blue tapestries hang above wooden tables and chairsFlooring shifts to reclaimed timber in the dining area, where banquette cushions are upholstered in yellow fabric and the accompanying vintage chairs are all slightly different designs.
      “The restaurant includes a deliberately minimal approach to furniture, lighting and decor, which allows the materiality to shine on its own,” said Home Studios.
      Blue-grey glazed ceramic tiles surround the window and door framesBlue-grey glazed ceramic tiles surround the window and door frames, while thin white tiles wrap the front of the bar counter.
      The same white tiling is found in the bathroom, accessed via a powder-blue door, but with red grouting for a more contemporary twist.

      Home Studios refreshes Daunt’s Albatross motel in Montauk

      Both The Bird and Daunt’s Albatross are run by third-generation proprietor Leo Daunt and his sister Zoe, who grew up in the town and wanted to return both properties to their former glory while retaining their neighbourhood feel.
      “Open year round and transforming with the seasons, [The Bird] will proudly continue its legacy as a community staple – and true Montauk landmark,” said the team.
      Wooden dining chairs that accompany the two-top tables are all slightly different designsSituated at the eastern tip of Long Island, Montauk is a popular summer getaway for New Yorkers that offers a more affordable alternative to the Hamptons nearby.
      However, it’s not without its fair share of expansive beach houses, with a grey wood-clad home by Desciencelab and a residence topped with a swimming pool by Bates Masi as examples.
      Accessed via a powder-blue door, the bathroom features white tiles and red groutingHome Studios was founded by Oliver Haslegrave in 2009 and has since completed a variety of hospitality projects across the US.
      Most recently, it has carried out a revamp of a Nantucket bar and restaurant using maritime references and an Italian restaurant close to Harvard University filled with plush booths and banquettes.
      The photography is by Brian W Ferry.

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      GRT Architects references “vacation Italian” at New York bar and restaurant

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      New York studio GRT Architects has designed a light and airy Italian restaurant and adjacent cocktail bar at the base of Thomas Heatherwick’s Lantern House in Manhattan.

      The new dining and drinking destinations face the corner of West 18th Street and 10th Avenue through the distinctive bay windows of the building, which straddles the popular High Line park in Chelsea.
      The bright and airy Cucina Alba was designed to transport diners to ItalyThe 3,000-square-foot (278 square metres), 90-cover Cucina Alba offers a full brunch and dinner menu, while Alba Accanto is half the size and serves cocktails and bites next door.
      Both are operated by Prince Street Hospitality, whose partner Cobi Levy collaborated with GRT Architects on the interiors of both spaces.
      Alternating yellow and white fabric panels are draped above the dining spaces”Cucina Alba and Alba Accanto are two distinct yet complementary spaces that instantly transport guests to Italy, capturing the polish of the north with the brightness of the south,” said the group.

      Cucina Alba is designed to embody a “vacation Italian” aesthetic, evoked by light terrazzo floors, tubular metal Knoll Cesca chairs, and pale oak millwork.
      Oak millwork, light-toned terrazzo flooring and tubular metal chairs all add to the ambienceAlternating yellow and white fabric panels were draped overhead, forming a parachute-esque ceiling that matches the striped awnings over the entrances.
      Thin metal chains hung from red railings act as space dividers, defining and partially enclosing a section of the dining area.
      Hints of coral red stand out against the pale colour paletteHigh-gloss, oxblood-coloured tables nestle into semicircular booths or line up along the bench that follows the windows.
      At the other end of the L-shaped space, the open-air kitchen is denoted by a colourful mural by artist Alex Proba that covers the end wall and part of the ceiling.
      A colourful mural by Alex Proba denotes the open kitchen areaIn the bay windows, an assortment of plants and random paraphernalia – from inflatables to plastic lemons and disco balls – are visible to passersby, while outdoor seating along 10th Avenue is offered under scallop-edged parasols that continue the white and yellow theme.
      Next door, Alba Accanto has a similar “Italian holiday bar” aesthetic, but with a slightly moodier ambience for evenings.

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      The bar counter is built from stacks of pale stone that form striations across the front, while the top and the bar back are made from continuous expanses of a single stone type.
      Arched niches behind the bar emanate a golden glow, and display glassware and liquor bottles alongside figurative sculptural vases that were custom-made in Italy.
      Next door, the Alba Accanto bar has stone detailsThe ceiling is covered in fabric that features thin ticking stripes, from which brass chandeliers with pale blue glass globes are suspended.
      At the back is a private dining room that can be booked for large parties of up to 45 guests, and the table configuration can be adapted depending on the event.
      The bar area features a striped fabric ceiling and a painting by Alex KatzBuilt-in bench seating wraps the perimeter, and patterned wallpaper and matching curtains are reflected in the glossy ceiling.
      In both spaces, works by renowned artists including Alex Katz and Ethan Cook were sourced with the help of art advisor Elizabeth Margulies, and hand-painted tableware from Puglia adds an authentic touch.
      Behind the bar is a private dining room that can accommodate up to 45 guests”The design of Alba Accanto is exuberant and maximalist in style, utilizing bright colors to reflect the vibrance of Italian coastal cities like Positano,” said Levy, “while the design of Cucina Alba is polished, contemporary, and warmly inviting with wood accents, embodying the soul of Milan.”
      “We wanted to capture the distinct atmosphere of each city, and with Accanto, we achieved that same sense of vitality but with a maximalist approach,” he added.
      Both Cucina Alba and Alba Accanto occupy the ground floor of Thomas Heatherwick’s Lantern House building in ChelseaGRT Architects has completed the interiors for two other Italian restaurants in New York City: the Michelin-starred Don Angie in the West Village, and the recently opened Bad Roman at Columbus Circle.
      Founded by Tal Schori and Rustam-Marc Mehta in 2014, the studio has amassed a portfolio that extends from Brooklyn townhouse renovations to ground-up builds in the Hudson Valley.
      The photography is by Peter Murdock.

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      Yinka Ilori imbues Courvoisier bar with natural beauty of Cognac region

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      A wavy canopy emerges like a fountain from this pop-up cognac bar inside Selfridges in London, designed by local designer Yinka Ilori to mimic the glistening waters of the Charente river in France’s Cognac region.

      The bar belongs to cognac brand Courvoisier and was designed to capture its hometown of Jarnac and the surrounding region, where cognac brandy is made using white grapes from one of six designated “crus” or areas.
      Courvoisier has opened a pop-up bar at SelfridgesIlori wanted to bring this bucolic setting to London’s Selfridges department store, using it to inform the colours and patterns featured throughout the space.
      “I aimed to capture the essence of Jarnac – the warmth of the sun, the rippling of water, the beautiful wildflowers and the natural beauty in the surroundings,” he told Dezeen.
      “The design pays homage to the magic and nature of Jarnac, creating a space that embodies its spirit.”

      The interior was designed by Yinka IloriThe town’s location on the Charente river is the most prominent influence, seen across the pale-blue floors, the sinuous rippling pattern on the walls and, most importantly, in the bar itself.
      Here, a circular counter was topped with a wavy blue canopy that seems to pour out of a central pillar, with the same pattern continuing down onto the base.
      Ilori also designed a limited-edition VSOP bottle for the brand”I wanted people to feel like they were surrounded by water, with it flowing both above and below them, creating a sense of immersion and tranquillity,” Ilori said.
      “The design of the canopy aims to reference the effortless flow of water, making visitors feel as though they are in the midst of a serene river.”
      The bar’s scalloped countertop picks up on the sinuous shape of the waves but provides a colourful contrast thanks to its lacquered red finish.

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      Another reoccurring feature throughout the space is a cartoonish flower shape that nods to Jarnac’s wildflower fields and is found across drinks stands and upholstered benches in the seating area.
      To create a visual connection between the blue waves and the buttercup-coloured flowers, Ilori incorporated a sunset gradient that fades from yellow to soft lilac and envelops several cylindrical display stands as well as the base of the bar.
      “I was struck by the gradients in the sky in Jarnac and wanted to capture this unique visual,” Ilori said.
      A wavy pattern features across the wallsThese three repeated motifs, spanning earth, sky and water, also feature in the limited-edition bottle design that Ilori created for Courvoisier’s Very Superior Old Pale (VSOP) cognac.
      The bottles are available in four different ombre colours and displayed throughout the bar, which will stay open for three weeks until 11 September.
      The same pattern is picked up in the canopy of the barThe project forms part of Ilori’s ongoing collaboration with Courvoisier as the brand’s “ambassador of joy”.
      Last year, the designer created an immersive dining for Courvoisier in New York, designed to transport diners into a surrealist interpretation of Jarnac.
      Ilori’s colourful work is often considered as part of the New London Fabulous movement and includes a colourful skate park in Lille and The Colour Palace pavilion at the London Festival of Architecture.

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      Ramy Fischler blends contemporary and historic for Moët Hennessy’s first cocktail bar

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      Belgian designer Ramy Fischler has collaborated with Moët Hennessy and cocktail creator Franck Audoux to create the Cravan cocktail bar in the heart of Paris’ Saint-Germain-des-Prés.

      Named Cravan, the bar for luxury drinks group Moët Hennessy was a collaboration between architect Fischler and restaurateur, author, historian and cocktail aficionado Audoux.
      Ramy Fischler designed the Cravan bar for Moët Hennessy”The objective of the design was to amplify a story by Franck Audoux originating from his small bar in the 16th arrondissement of Paris and transforming it into a cocktail house over five levels in the centre of the capital – to imagine the creation of a new house of the Moët Hennessy group,” Fischler told Dezeen.
      “This is not a one-shot but the beginning of a long adventure. It was therefore necessary to define a harmony, a coherence, between all the ingredients of the project, whether it is the decoration, the service, the music or the lighting.”
      The building features three separate barsThe space takes its name from the avant-garde poet-boxer and sometime art critic, Arthur Cravan, a free-spirited figure greatly admired by Audoux, with whom Fischler worked closely on this project.

      “We share a common vision, based essentially on cultural references from literature and cinema, and above all a taste for scenic impact, framing a context, point of view, or narrative,” said Fischler.
      “We started with the desire to freely assemble codes, eras, and styles to craft a new repertoire which made sense to us and expressed the essence of Cravan.”

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      Set in a 17th-century building in the heart of this historic and literary district, the space was arranged over five floors, with a small invitation-only space on the roof.
      The building has separate bars, each with its own distinct character on the ground, first and third floors, while the second floor hosts the Rizzoli bookstore-cum-library, where guests can come with their drinks to leaf through and buy books. On the fourth floor, there’s another invitation-only atelier-style space.
      Each of the spaces was designed to combine modern elements with the building’s historic fabricAccording to Fischler, the whole project took its cues from the concept of the cocktail.
      “I would never have imagined this project in its current state if it were not a question of drinking cocktails” he said.

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      “There are a number of ingredients that we blend together to create a unique whole, that seems offbeat but is actually very controlled,” he continued.
      “I thought of the spaces as cinematic scenes, hence the individual atmospheres on each floor which form different sets. You can sit in front of the stage, on the stage, or behind the stage, depending on the experience and viewing angle you prefer.”
      The bar is Moët Hennessy’s firstTo create these different scenes, the project makes use of a wide range of materials, often reclaimed salvaged pieces including parquet floors, stone floors and wood wall coverings, painstakingly installed by a large team of craftspeople.
      In Ramy Fischler’s projects, the textiles always play an important role and the practice features its own in-house textile designer.
      “For Cravan, we tried to use as much re-used material as possible, and in particular textiles from Nona Source, a start-up that makes available leftover, unused fabrics from the fashion houses of the LVMH group.”
      Historic elements were retained throughout the spaceThe practice strived to create a contrast between the warm and natural colours of the historic fittings, and the colder and metallic colours of the contemporary furniture and fittings, “which cohabit one alongside the other”.
      “Depending on the level, the colour palette is totally different, and since no room is alike, and each colour has been chosen according to the universe we have sought to compose,” said Fischler.
      Fischler also designed glasses for the barAll of Cravan’s furniture was custom designed and Fischler’s holistic approach extends to the cocktail glasses, which the practice designed for Cravan and which are displayed in the library.
      “Rather than creating new shapes, we preferred to select, from the history of glassware over the past 300 years, the models that we liked and that we wanted customers to rediscover,” explained Fischler.
      Other recent bars featured on Dezeen include an eclectic cocktail in Los Angeles designed by Kelly Wearstler to feel “like it has been there for ages” and the Ca’ Select bar and distillery in Venice.
      The photography is by Vincent Leroux and Alice Fenwick

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      Otherworlds transforms Goan villa into restaurant that “celebrates chance encounters”

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      Local design studio Otherworlds drew on the traditional Goan balcão when converting a 1980s villa in Panjim, India, into the Terttulia restaurant and bar.

      Housed in a Portuguese-style villa, Terttulia Goa is defined by a central island bar informed by the balcão – an outdoor porch with built-in seats that serves as the entrance to a typical Goan home.
      The restaurant takes its name from the Spanish word tertulia, meaning a social gathering with literary or artistic associations.
      Intimate two-seater booths flank the bar”The balcão is a crucial part of a Goan home as this is where one spends most of their time,” Otherworlds founder Arko told Dezeen.
      “At a time of rampant urbanisation, all houses tend to become very self-contained, private and detached, separated away from the city or the neighbourhood,” he continued.

      “The balcão becomes all the more important at such a time as it is built with the idea of reinforcing the kinship between the house and the neighbourhood.”
      Terttulia Goa is defined by a central bar informed by the balcãoMultidisciplinary studio Otherworlds overhauled the villa, which it describes as a “formerly enclosed shell”, by removing some of the external walls and extending the dining area into an outdoor porch.
      This area is sheltered by a large bamboo canopy with elliptical openings that diffuse the natural light, transforming the space throughout the day.
      The canopy is intended to mitigate the region’s extreme weather conditions; sheltering customers from the rain during monsoon season and providing a semi-open space with plenty of air circulation during the hot summer months.
      Low-hung lamps add a sense of “whimsy”Otherworlds designed the bar so that customers face each other, rather than facing the wall, in a bid to “encourage chance encounters”.
      “The intention was to create an immersive atmospheric experience that inspires a feeling of being in a tropical, lush outdoor space under an overgrown natural canopy,” said Arko.
      A metal and fluted glass structure hung from the building’s external walls floats above the white marble bartop and holds the arc-shaped lamps that light the intimate two-seater booths flanking the bar.
      A bamboo canopy was inserted to mitigate the region’s extreme weather conditionsAt night, the restaurant is lit by low-hung sinuous lamps informed by sweeping stems that are intended to add a sense of “whimsy” to the interior.
      Adhering to Terttulia’s signature green and white colour scheme, the studio opted for a palette of locally sourced materials, including the green-pigmented hand-cast concrete that it used to create the restaurant’s flooring.
      “The green pigmented hand-cast concrete floor, largely termed as IPS [Indian Patent stone], is found in most places in the country and is also used to finish the balcão in all Goan homes,” Arko explained.
      Terttulia Goa is housed in a revamped 1980s villaOtherworlds worked with local workshop Jyamiti & Sea to create ovoid terrazzo accents that are scattered in various places across the floor and walls.
      The studio achieved what it terms “the perfect green” using a mixture of white and grey cement and green oxide pigment.
      Otherworlds opted for a palette of locally sourced materials”The tricky bit with coloured concrete is achieving the exact shade [because] once the cement sets and is polished, the result is quite different from the initial wet mix,” said Arko.
      “The process required numerous iterations and experiments to get the right mixture of materials that would yield the correct shade.”
      The green cement is offset by dark wood derived from the matti, Goa’s state tree.
      “We imagined the restaurant to be an extension of the house and while being part of it, [we also wanted it to] feel like a part of the city.”
      Other projects that take a contemporary approach to Indian design traditions include a rammed-earth family home in Rajasthan designed by Sketch Design Studio and a Rain Studio-designed “native yet contemporary” home in Chennai.
      The photography is by Suryan and Dang. 

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