Copper Kitchen

01 Idea

For this restaurant in a former printing warehouse in Kadıköy, the chef wanted the kitchen not hidden but staged. So we turned the plan inside out: the kitchen sits at the centre, the dining room around it. In a space where fire, steam and movement are on show, sound and heat became part of the design too. Our idea was a workshop table: everyone around the same counter, eye to eye with the cooks. The restaurant seats ninety, yet every table feels part of the kitchen.

02 Space

The central cooking island is a 14-metre block whose three sides serve as counters; the nearest seat is two metres from the flame. The perimeter of the room is calmer: banquettes along the warehouse’s old brick walls and tables for four. We kept the entrance deliberately narrow; as soon as you step through the door, the full depth of the space and the flame at its heart appear at once. Service routes never cross guest paths; the back kitchen and storage connect to the old loading door.

03 Material and construction

The island is clad in copper sheets wrapped around a stainless-steel carcass; the copper darkens over time and shines where hands touch it. Counter tops are dark basalt, tables solid walnut. The extraction hood is a single blackened-steel mass running the length of the island, concealing lighting and acoustic absorption. The old brick walls were simply cleaned and consolidated with a transparent lime-based sealer. Floors are micro-concrete; banquettes are upholstered in dark green leather.

04 Light

The restaurant works mainly in the evening, and we built the lighting around that. The brightest point in the room is above the island: a warm strip of high colour fidelity that renders the food and the cooks’ hands truthfully. In the dining room the light level is deliberately low; a low lamp on each table lights faces while the ceiling remains in darkness. The copper surfaces catch this light and lend the room a soft, amber glow. By day, the old warehouse windows bring light in grazing across the brick walls.