Prize(s) Honorable Mentions
Lighting Design/Product Company Electrolight
Lead Designers Donn Salisbury. Catriona Venn, Gemma Ferguson
Architecture Company Bates Smart Architects
Interior Design Company Bates Smart Architects
Client Prefecture 48
Photo Credits Rohan Venn
Completion Date Late 2024
Project Location 230 Sussex Street, Surry Hills, Sydney, Australia
Entry DescriptionPrefecture 48 is a stunning heritage dining precinct featuring 6 unique Japanese venues. Inspired by Japanese culture arts & the innovation of its 47 prefectures, Prefecture 48 brings these diverse influences together in a way that has not been seen in Australia.
Each venue exhibits it’s own personality, reflecting the unique cuisine on offer through colour, texture, light & art. All have open kitchens which sit as the centrepiece/'stage' where chefs/bartenders perform for guests. This theatrical atmosphere demanded a lighting approach which combined heritage architectural, immersive dining experience, gallery & performance lighting. The challenge was creating spaces that embraced their own character & spoke a common language as a part of the 48th Prefecture family.
A restrained delivery of light to express the heritage structure was applied to blur the lines between colonial architecture & Japanese theatre. Red light grazes the walls, capturing the texture of the heritage brickwork & providing an introduction to the themed lighting concept. Numerous displayed artworks feel both part of the venues & stunning interventions in their own right, brought to life through integrated accenting, visual layering & the in-between subconscious relief of light.
Despite the tight budget, a number of bespoke luminaires were designed in-house & fabricated locally to keep costs realistic.
