1/10 Burlington Gardens, 1665
2/10 The West Room as existing
3/10 The building blocks...
4/10 A new interior
5/10 A new interior
6/10 Decorative panels and mirrors
7/10 Fashionable carrot
8/10 Plan
9/10 Section
David Kohn Architects
79 Stoneleigh Terrace
London N19 5TZ
+44 (0)20 7419 1817 tel
+44 (0)20 7209 0979 fax
Email
Situated in the West Room of 6 Burlington Gardens, Flash was a temporary restaurant open for three months, closing in January 2009, as part of the season of contemporary arts, GSK Contemporary hosted by the Royal Academy of Arts. David Kohn Architects collaborated with restaurateurs, Pablo Flack and David Waddington of Bistrotheque, illustrator Rory Crichton and fashion designer Giles Deacon on the design.
Our approach made the most of the existing architecture, co-opting its grandness into the project, whilst achieving a light, playful atmosphere. A new timber structure made of stacked art crates was erected between each of the room’s cast iron columns, accentuating their presence and framing the three major windows on the west wall. Each section of wall was divided following Classical rules of composition. The effect was to tighten the proportions of the space lending the interior a more elegant character.
From the outset, there was an interest in trompe l’oeil and Pompeiian wall paintings in which fantastical spaces, populated by dancing figures, gardens and animals, would extend beyond the walls of the interior. Decorative infill panels depicting sinuous plants, birds and animals glimpsed through a felt mesh fence were installed alongside recessed mirrors. The history of the site as the garden of Burlington House was reimagined, alongside a more gritty urban landscape beyond Mayfair.
