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eWalk-Through: Sinju

Skylab Design transforms a suburban mall space in Oregon into a hip sushi restaurant and lounge.

Sheila Kim-Jamet -- Interior Design, 12/18/2006 12:19:00 PM

Five hundred sushi plates may seem like a lot, but it’s not what you think. For the second location of Japanese restaurant Sinju, situated in a mall space in Tualatin, Oregon, the owners were looking for a fresh new look and identity. Hired to take on that task was Skylab Design, whose ingenious use of the sushi plates to tile an entire wall of the private dining zone was just one intriguing design concept for the project.

For the rest of the 2,700-square-foot space, Skylab conceived of a landscape of Japanese references—some kitschy, while others subtle or abstract. Take, for instance, the sushi-plate wall of the private dining room. While it may seem like an obvious nod to sushi at first, there’s another reason behind this. “There are all these strong metaphors to the elements in Japanese architecture, so we looked at an existing aesthetic and tried to make it new,” says Skylab principal Jeff Kovel. “These blue plates are a spin on that, referencing cool water.” Lit from above, the wall is complemented by a custom Corian table and matching blue Verner Panton chairs.

In the main dining area, a backlit pyramidal-acrylic ceiling topography—a geometric abstraction of a cloudy sky—floats above wood chairs and tables to give diners a feel of being in a traditional Japanese courtyard or garden. This motif is repeated in other areas: the slate-tile floor of the main dining room mimics the lines of the pyramidal ceiling, while the sushi bar’s back-bar wall is formed of pyramidal mirror. The latter is framed within a Douglas fir rectangular structure that forms the sushi bar’s actual eating counter. Measuring 35-feet long, it frames the sushi chefs to create a sort of show kitchen. Up to 12 diners can be seated at the bar on custom-designed acrylic zigzag swivel chairs.

An additional goal specified by the client was to make Sinju not only a swanky dining scene, but a viable nightspot. To address this, Skylab created a path that draws the eyes inward to the restaurant’s cozy lounge. Red ceramic-tile bricks line the walkway, and wraps up the wall to form an open fireplace. (The narrow ribbon-like path also alludes to thin Nori strips that band sushi.) Seating alcoves and nooks here feature Douglas fir slat walls, and are accompanied by custom red powder-coated-steel-and-mirror tables and cylindrical pendants that add to the warm glow of the space. Skylab’s final kitschy reference to Japanese culture is found above head here, where cherry-blossom tree wallpaper covers the ceiling to once again remind loungers of a relaxing Japanese garden. Sake, anyone?