Gold Interior Space and Exhibition Design · 2025
Aka Teppanyaki Restaurant
by Ayse Kubilay
- A' Design Award 2025 Gold Winner in Interior Space and Exhibition Design
- Awarded April 15, 2025
- CLIENT: Ayse Kubilay
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 82,870
- Verification code 72404F2B67 · Verify this award
About Aka Teppanyaki Restaurant
Aka Teppanyaki is a restaurant for Japanese and Asian cuisine, located inside a resort hotel on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey. The indoor area covers 190 square meters and seats 48 guests, while the open air terrace seats 60. An open kitchen with a teppanyaki grill stands at the center, surrounded by a bar where guests watch the chefs cook. Sliding translucent doors, called fusuma, inspired the backlit lattice style wall coverings. A three-dimensional ceiling made of wooden and metal pipes hides the ventilation system.
Within the distinguished tradition of contemporary hospitality design that synthesizes Eastern spatial philosophies with modern material innovation, Aka Teppanyaki Restaurant emerges as a compelling meditation on the intersection of ceremony, materiality, and atmospheric experience, demonstrating the sophisticated design sensibility characteristic of the most accomplished interior environments of the early twenty-first century, the work engages deeply with Japanese architectural principles including the modulation of light through translucent screening, the celebration of natural materials in their honest expression, and the creation of threshold moments that prepare visitors psychologically for the ritualized experience of teppanyaki dining, compositionally the space achieves remarkable equilibrium through its central timber column which functions simultaneously as structural necessity and symbolic axis mundi around which the dining experience orbits, the ceiling installation represents a particularly notable achievement in its transformation of functional acoustic and visual screening into sculptural presence, the descending terracotta cylinders evoking associations with bamboo forests, traditional wind chimes, or the vertical elements of historic temple architecture while their clustered arrangement creates visual rhythm and depth that activates the upper register of the space, the chromatic decisions demonstrate nuanced understanding of how color temperature shapes emotional response, with the warm earth tones and rich burgundy accents establishing a sense of enveloping comfort against the cooler gray base palette, the pendant fixtures deserve particular attention as objects that bridge decorative and functional roles while introducing organic biomorphic geometry into the predominantly rectilinear architecture, their delicate petal-like forms suggesting natural growth patterns and providing visual softness, the seating arrangement reveals thoughtful consideration of the dining experience at multiple scales from intimate conversation to larger group gathering, the curved banquettes creating protected alcoves within the larger volume, visitors may find themselves contemplating how the interplay of transparency and opacity, natural and manufactured, vertical and horizontal creates a space that honors tradition while embracing contemporary design innovation, inviting sustained observation of the careful relationships between all elements.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- Aka Teppanyaki Restaurant is a modern Japanese and Asian cuisine restaurant located in Gloria Serenity Resort Hotel, designed by Ayse Kubilay. It promises a gastronomic and architectural journey to Japan. The open kitchen and the bar around the hotplate located in the center of venue is an interactive showplace for the chefs. Designed for only 48 guests Aka focuses on offering an unforgettable experience to the guests.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Aka Teppanyaki Restaurant has an 190sqm indoor and 110sqm outdoor space. Aka, can host 60 people in the open air terrace and 48 people in the indoor area, 20 of which are in the open kitchen bar area.
- Tags
- teppanyaki restaurant, restaurant design, hospitality design, interior design
- Production Technology
- In the open kitchen located in the center of the venue, Far Eastern chefs make a show with flames on the teppanyaki grill. The bar area is designed around the hot plate where the chef cooks, offers guests the opportunity to interactively participate in this show. The three-dimensional design, which dresses the ceiling of the venue, takes its color from the flames released during the chef’s show and the importance of red in Japanese culture. The three-dimensional ceiling system, designed with wooden and metal pipes of different sizes, has a functional setup that hides the entire infrastructure and ventilation system.
While designing Aka Restaurant, Ayse Kubilay also emphasized the Mediterranean identity of the place and separated the three facades from the open-air areas with a glass partition. The boundaries between interior and exterior spaces are blurred, creating a fluid architectural language. Aka, can host 60 people in the open air terrace and 48 people in the indoor area, 20 of which are in the open kitchen bar area. The layering approach in the interior design reflects the Zen philosophy. This layering can be observed through the combination of glossy and matte wooden textures, linen and velvet textiles, lattice style backlit wall panels. Pendant lights, inspired by the fans used by Japanese women, illuminate the dining tables. - Design Challenge
- The hardest part of the architectural design was creating a ceiling system to hide the huge ventilation system over the open kitchen and hot plate. We designed the three dimensional pipes of different sizes and materials to hide all the technical elements beneath.
- Project Duration
- The project has been completed in 2023 July.
- Operation Flow
- Aka, is an innovative and interactive restaurant conceived by Ayse Kubilay, situated on one of the most beautiful Mediterranean coasts of Turkey, inside the luxurious Gloria Serenity Resort Hotel. We meticulously worked on every detail of the restaurant. Every surface and every detail at the restaurant invite guests to embark on a journey of Far Eastern delight and discovery. Aka Teppanyaki Restaurant was designed as one of the six dining restaurants of the hotel.
- Research
- We have made a detailed research about Far Eastern culture and cuisine. We meticulously worked on traditional Japanese architectural elements. Translucent doors in traditional Japanese architecture called Fusuma and Shoji inspired us for the wall coverings. We observed the Zen style architecture and we designed a layering system in Aka Restaurant.
- Inspiration
- Aka finds its architectural character in Far Eastern geographies and cultures.Traditional separators of Japanese architecture called Shoji and Fusuma influence Ayse Kubilay while dressing Aka.Sliding translucent doors, called fusuma in Japanese architecture, dress some of Akas facades as backlit lattice style wall coverings.The layering approach in the interior design reflects the Zen philosophy.
- Image Credits
- All photos by Emre Dorter
Colors of Aka Teppanyaki Restaurant
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