RUDY GUÉNAIRE

Located in Paris’s sophisticated district of Victor Hugo, the iconic Japanese restaurant chain, Matsuri, known for serving sushi and cocktails, has opened its latest eatery designed by Rudy Guénaire’s agency, Studio Nightflight. Established in 1986 by a French couple, the restaurant is the 13th addition to the chain’s growing portfolio. Measuring only 200m2, the restaurant was completed within just seven weeks.

Designed with a distinct melange of cultures, influences from architecture and cinematography have been peppered throughout the restaurant. Seating is arranged in a communal format like a bar, and guests are seated casually side-by-side facing towards the sushi conveyor belt known as Kaiten in Japanese. When Guénaire is asked about what the client’s brief was, he explains that it “was very simple: Japan, America and a bit of Blade Runner, voilà!”

Reminiscent of a modernist scene, charcoal stone mosaic flooring is used to allow the minimalist material palette to perform, where walnut and cream lacquered timber joinery rein as the main materials used within this restaurant. Oblique forms are referenced in Guénaire’s work through the chamfered details and insertions in the joinery to the bespoke chairs, that were designed for the restaurant which continue the modernist narrative. Guénaire designed the chairs based on his interpretations from having visited Izakaya (informal bars) in Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto.

Reflecting on his sources of inspiration, Guénaire says “I drew on everything that has marked me from these two countries that I adore. From Japan, I took this idea that fascinates me, which is that the Japanese frame everything. As if everything had to be an island, firmly delimited by something that protects it and makes it unique.” He further explains by stating, “From California, I took these incredible oblique lines that make me melt. The kind you find in Frank Lloyd Wright’s or Lautner’s work. A slant that recalls the Indian tent, the primordial shelter. American modernists loved Japan. Sometimes, they'd never even been there. It's this Japanism that I wanted to prolong.”

Permeating a soft sunset glow that gently illuminates the concrete walls that are decorated with vintage Japanese posters, custom-design ultra-thick polycarbonate domes allude to the movie, Blade Runner. “We did something fun for the ceiling. We took some industrial sky domes and turned them upside down to make a luminous ceiling. These perfectly crafted industrial products are really beautiful. We installed a sophisticated lighting system and fine-tuned the colours of the lights” Guénaire says.   

Matsuri embodies the sentiment of Japanese culture that is effortlessly fused with a Western context and nostalgically transports one back to a modernist time, just like a cinematic experience.

PHOTOGRAPHY | LUDOVIC BALAY