When it came to bringing Noma Australia to life in Sydney, chef René Redzepi wanted the restaurant’s interiors to be shaped by local influences as much as the menu was. Here’s how his vision was pieced together with bricks and mortar, and more than a little rammed earth for good measure.
Gourmet Traveller: behind the scenes at Noma Australia with Rene Redzepi
Chef René Redzepi flew 100 or so of his Copenhagen staff to Sydney to create the food and service at Noma Australia, but he couldn’t exactly transport the old fishing warehouse in which his Danish restaurant resides. Setting up for 10 weeks at the base of a new apartment building at Barangaroo South, Redzepi turned to Melbourne design studio Foolscap to convey his very particular vision of place.
“The brief was to come up with an interior that matched his vision for working with local materials,” says Foolscap founder and principal, Adele Winteridge.
“René sourced ingredients from the coastline and the land for the menu so we worked that back into the interiors. It’s very simple but elemental. And it may be a temporary project, but it doesn’t necessarily feel that way. We wanted to give it a sense of solidity, of permanence.”
The fit-out is an ode to Australian salt lakes, desert and charred wood. “The floor, an earth-coloured oxidised render, is inspired by the salt pans of seas and lakes, a source of life and ingredients,” says Winteridge.
“The walls are rammed earth, collected near Port Macquarie and treated with various coloured oxides, and the ceilings reference the charcoal of ritual bush burning. For the timber batons that run the length of the dining room, we chose finishes that result from charring. Of the ceilings all you see is a fine texture which appears charred – it creates a dark, intimate space.”
The chairs are classic Danish, designed by Hans J Wegner for Carl Hansen & Søn, but the bespoke crockery is all Australian, produced by a pair of Newcastle ceramicists, Jacqueline Clayton and Paul Davis.
“As with the earth walls,” says Winteridge, “the crockery was based on locally sourced materials and was developed to frame dishes made from local ingredients.”
Around 700 textured plates were thrown for the project, with varying finishes, and designed around specific dishes.
The colour palette is mostly neutral with a standout red plate a highlight.
Other spaces Foolscap has created include Sydney’s Sixpenny, Uncle in St Kilda and the White Rabbit Brewery in Healesville, Victoria. Known for a holistic, bespoke approach, at Noma Barangaroo the firm has effectively communicated Australia through Redzepi’s eyes. “You enter through a large bulkhead which creates a sense of intimacy, enclosure, then this opens up towards glazed walls and views out to water, horizon, sky.”
