| B5 The Art of Living
DESIGN UPDATEJapanese infusionDESIGNER, NORIYOSHI MURAMATSU, LOOKSBACK AT HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH ZUMAFOUNDER, GERMAN CHEF RAINER BECKER, AS THEBUSINESS PREPARES <strong>FOR</strong> A MAJOR EXPANSIONUAE: Zuma will celebrate its 10thanniversary in 2012. It has verestaurants in London, Hong Kong,Istanbul, Dubai and Miami andplans to open three more: Bangkokin September, Beirut in Decemberand Abu Dhabi in May 2012.The interior of all ve chains isdesigned by Noriyoshi Muramatsu,of Tokyo design rm, Studio Glittand Peter Bruce at AMBB will betting out the Abu Dhabi venue.“Zuma is a big part of who Iam. It is a great privilege to haveworked with Rainer all theseyears,” said Muramatsu.The Zuma concept is based onthe four elements of earth, re, waterand air. It is a fusion of modernarchitecture and traditional Japanesecuisine, inspired by informalJapanese dining known as Izakaya;nomihodai (“all you can drink”)and tabehodai (“all you can eat”).The restaurants are made up ofthree components including themain kitchen, offering a selectionof contemporary dishes, the SushiBar and the Robata Grill, a conceptoriginating from the cooking styleof northern Japanese shermen.“We have deliberately avoidedusing traditional Japanese furnishingsas part of the interior, suchas tatami low seating mats andlanterns, and have instead focusedon a modern take of the Japanesegarden, represented by the bamboostructure in the middle of theroom, inspired by bamboo forestsin Japan. The wires holding up thesculpture are images of rain, theuse of wall-to-ceiling glass bringsin the light and rusted walls representre elements,” he said.Muramatsu has used naturalmaterial and resources as muchas he could in the design butfound that when he used naturalwood for the ooring it started torise with the humidity, previouslyunheard of in Zuma’s other venues.As a result, the oor in the Dubairestaurant had to be lined withconcrete rst. “It’s interestingrecreating similar spaces in differentlocations because eachvenue is unique in its design andenvironment and we have to adaptto these conditions,” he said.“With natural wood, I wantedto create a sense of earthiness.Other materials include metal andstones, which won’t have to bereplaced often. I like the idea ofthe rustic walls evolving over timewhich adds character to the décor.“Usually a lot of people changethe interior over time, but here itis well kept and maintained andBecker’s concept is well preserved.“Even though the restaurantswill be in the Middle East, eachone will have its own personalityand vibe. Reiner doesn’t want torecreate the Japanese theme butwants to bring it to an internationalaudience,” he added.Speaking about the Middle Eastexpansion, Ajaz Sheikh, director ofoperations, Zuma, said expansionthroughout the region made sense.“Beirut’s thriving dining sceneand reputation as a luxury destinationmakes it an unmissableopportunity while Abu Dhabicontinues to establish itself as theregional cultural capital,” he said.Aside from Zuma, Muramatsuwill be completing a new hoteldesign, unique to Thailand, twohours outside Bangkok, which willopen in March next year. He alsohas several restaurant projects inJapan and other retail shops andrestaurants in San Francisco, US.www.constructionweekonline.comCommercial Interior Design | MAY 2011 21