CUT Architectures, the design studio founded by architects Yann Martin and Benjamin Clarens, have unveiled the latest fruits of their labour, which comes in the form of a new Parisian Restaurant in the heart of the French capital named Ortensia.
Chef Terumitsu Saito, who was born and raised in Okayama, Japan, is standing at the helm of the new restaurant. Saito refined his culinary skills in various Michelin-starred restaurants in Tokyo before he headed to Paris in 2007 to make his mark on the City’s renowned culinary scene. To help continue his upwards trajectory, the Japanese chef has recently put together a team to spearhead Ortensia, a jewel of a restaurant with just twenty tables, located only a stone’s throw from the world-famous Trocadéro plaza in Paris.
CUT’s design and architecture studio were tasked with creating an interior that would perfectly complement Chef Terumitsu Saito’s style and gastronomic masterpieces. For the interior, the team opted for a more refined decor, which makes liberal use of french style that is as subtle and meticulous as it is poetic—a perfect frame to showcase the chef and his team’s talents.
One of the main things the design team were eager to implement was an environment and ambience that seamlessly combined chef Terumitsu Saito’s traditional vision with the classic Parisian style. They achieved this by installing shoji screens, coupled with neutral and warm tones, natural oak furniture, acoustic fabric curtains, and plaster styled from textured clay.
Ortensia’s twenty tables sit within an intimate setting behind a grand glass facade and a wooden screen that resembles a towering forest brimming with slender oak tree trunks.
The design team are also partial to curves, which are evident throughout the restaurant, creating a feeling of softness. They’ve also installed bench seats crafted with supple leather with led ribbon trims that bathe the room with indirect light, bordered by Arakabe plaster walls that blend into the quilted carpet.
The attention to detail creates the wonderful ambience experienced in Ortensia. The decision to use only the most elegant building materials has produced an environment fitting for the finely honed expertise exhibited in Saito’s gastronomic cuisine. We look forward to reviewing the cuisine when we next visit Paris.
About CUT Architectures
CUT is a collaborative design studio that was founded in 2008. Its founders are Yann Martin and Benjamin Clarens, architects who operate across a broad spectrum and who like to rethink space differently.
Benjamin trained at the Paris-based Malaquais School of Architecture and graduated with a degree in architecture. Yann cut his teeth working under Anne Mie Depuydt and Erik van Daele at UAPS (the Architecture and Urban Planning Agency) before travelling to Helsinki, where he collaborated with Aaro Virkunen at his Finnish studio, Avark.
Today CUT is home to a dozen associates from multiple backgrounds, including architects, interior architects, engineers and designers. For more information, visit their website www.cut-architectures.com.
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