Studio Pirajean Lees paired oxblood tiles with intricate wooden joinery at the Kioku sushi restaurant and sake bar, within central London's OWO hotel, to reference the head chef 's travels.
Kioku consists of a bar on the ground floor and a restaurant on the top floor of the hotel within the Grade II*-listed Old War Office on Whitehall, which once housed the British government's military departments.
Pirajean Lees created Kioku, meaning "memory" in Japanese, to capture sushi master Endo Kazutoshi's recollections of living and working in Japan and Spain.
Kioku bar is located on the ground floor of The OWO
Located on the ground floor of the hotel, the single-room bar is accessed via a door framed with smooth timber joinery informed by the traditional Japanese carpentry technique Sashimono. Guests are greeted by a bespoke oak reception desk featuring embroidered floral textiles and mesh detailing as well as a light-controlled sake cellar clad with patchwork cork panels.
All of Kioku's furniture was custom-made by Pirajean Lees, explained studio co-founder James Lees.
The bar features a light-controlled sake cellar
"We share a passion for storytelling and an obsession with details, from the way your hand touches the backrest of a chair, to the height of the table," said the designer.
"From the outset, we knew that the level of attention to detail in the interior had to match that found in the food being served."
Japanese records can be played on a b...