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playful contributions to its overall spirit,
highlighting other fundamental design
elements within,” says Bishop.
Polaroid photos hang down suspended
from the ceiling, showing black and white
images of Italian beaches, as well as photos
of guests taken from the integrated photo
booth. Lighting has been used here to cast
shadows across the ceiling and wall surfaces,
creating dynamic patterns that enhance the
space.
Bishop continues: “Within the venue are
multiple spatial offerings each with their
own independent, individual spirit. They
each encourage a multitude of different
scenarios that animate each space in a
slightly different way.”
Upon entering, guests encounter a playful
illumination of backlit exit signs and
traditional Edison lamps through to LED
neon and pendant lighting reminiscent
of oversized beach balls. “We have also
thoughtfully integrated a bespoke structurallighting matrix adorned with Mineheart’s
Gold King Edison pendant lamps to create
a light-hearted Italian food market
atmosphere,” says Bishop. “There are
also wall-mounted Anglepoise lights in the
banquette seating areas.”
An intelligent use of both indirect and
directional fixtures placed mindfully in
the venue animate the visual features
overhead, creating a refraction of light
over various textural surfaces. The spacious
entrance leads diners through to the dolce
counter, main bar, as well as formal and
casual seating areas, each with a carefully
considered lighting scheme that elevates the
individual zones and brings them together as
a whole restaurant.
Bishop explains: “This was achieved through
implementing a dimmable DALI system so
the desired lighting levels within could
be set throughout the course of the day’s
transition from afternoon through to an
evening setting.“We elaborated on this outside as well,
where we were challenged to work with
the existing architectural lighting of the
hotel. We pushed hard to find a very
carefully considered balance between our
ideas for visual enhancement and what was
already there to bring these external spaces
together in synergy as well.”
As the project progressed, the team also
faced electrical constraints. “We had to be
extremely conscious that the solutions we
presented didn’t compromise our design
vision,” continues Bishop. “We tackled
these apparent disadvantages in structure
by suspending layers within spaces, creating
visual intrigue that worked with our goals.
Restrictions also came with the electrical
load, specially for the external terrace,
which pushed us to rely heavily on overspill
light flooding from the interior to highlight
this particular area.”
The lighting pieces are an integral element
in the storytelling of ideas behind TornoPROJECT