Cocoro

InteriorsHospitality
Written By Stephen Roke

Auckland, New Zealand

All of the selected materials are natural and recyclable. The result is a space that has a contemporary Japanese feel and compliments the degustation and tapas style menu with its simplicity.

 
The restaurant from the street at night, the timber ceiling seen through the long window
The entry down the side lane, the Cocoro sign lit on dark board
A banquette table set for service, timber battens turning up into the ceiling
The dining room along the sushi counter, battens on one side and raw concrete above
 
The chefs at work behind the counter, the pass lit under the batten screen
A corner table under the timber soffit, the batten screen carried past it
The room seen from the sushi counter, the dark panel behind the banquette
 

Cocoro was commissioned by former Soto chef Makoto Tokuyama as a showcase for his distinctive and very natural take on modern Japanese food.

The décor includes a subtle tatami-style matting, sandblasted concrete ceilings, macrocarpa slats and a large dining table in the middle of the room where customers can dine side-by-side.

All of the selected materials are natural and recyclable. The result is a space that has a contemporary Japanese feel and compliments the degustation and tapas style menu with its simplicity.

Cocoro featured on international interior design websites Dezeen and WAN, along with being recognised in the Interior Architecture category winning an Auckland Architecture Award at the 2011 New Zealand Architecture Awards (NZIA) and Gold at the 2011 Best Awards in the hospitality category as well as the Restaurants & Bars Division, Nourishment Group and Sponsor Shopfront Awards at the 2011 NZRIA RED awards.

Photography, Patrick Reynolds

Project

Client: Makoto Tokuyama

Location: Ponsonby, Auckland

Status: Complete

Stephen Roke
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