L.A. POKÉ
Refreshing as a dip in the pool! Ester Bruzkus Architekten have designed the interior of the new Berlin restaurant L.A. Poke that recalls the lightness of California through color contrasts and custom furnishings. “We were inspired by the chill mood of the West Coast,” says architect Ester Bruzkus. So the design idea was to make a poke restaurant that was as relaxed as a day at a California pool.
The interior design of the L.A. Poke makes use of contrasts of thick and thin, sharp and soft, curved and straight, rough and smooth. The space is screened by arches in different heights, widths and depths. While some arches were already in the room before the renovation, the architects playfully added more to transform the space. Framed vistas and views bring the eye deep into the space, define open and intimate spaces, and tease the sense that there are mirrors, even though there are not. Another playful use of symmetry is the horizon line that bisects all front rooms exactly at eye level. Here, Ester Bruzkus Architekten show their expertise with color and texture: below the line, perhaps it is the pool that is recalled, with blue shades, smooth texture, tubular steel furniture and reflective horizontal stainless steel surfaces. The walls are painted in the Le Corbusier color outremer gris, a light bluish-gray that creates a soft room atmosphere. Above the horizon line, on and the walls and the ceilings, the architects use the color terre sienne pâle, on a rough surface, which suggests the summer sun striking a clay wall - Le Corbusier describes it as “sandy, subtle and restrained.” The two color zones are connected by round outdoor glass lights that sit exactly on the horizon line.
