Page 24 - Designing Ways 253

COMMERCIAL
INTERIOR

copper ribs whose silhouette reminds
you, appropriately at this height, of a
bird’s outstretched wing; whilst copper
shelves, framed by industrial rivets and
the soft halo of light reflected through
display wine bottles, conspire with copper
straps, timber mouldings, and a mirrored
clerestory to create the palimpsest of a
cellar. Which was the whole point of the
design programme - subtlety at work with
imagination. As Fu points out, “We were
careful to not be thematic, but rather to
capture the spirit of the cellar, which is
why the ceilings, for example, are not
literal interpretations of a vaulted ceiling.
Instead, we have the gentle curvilinear
arch of the oak and copper ribs in the
main dining room.”
At the far end of the room is the small
private dining room, one wall lined by an
abstract collage of semi-circled timber
insets and mirrors, and the other opening
dramatically outwards to an aerial view of
IM Pei’s Gateway Towers.
For Fu, The Cellar is an unusual project
born out of the need to create more space
for an existing restaurant whilst infusing
it with a distinct personality that, from a
design perspective, also reads holistically.
“With The Cellar, I tapped into my own

24 Issue 253 • dw