Restaurant SOLEN (the sun) is situated in the historic meatpacking district of Stockholm. The restaurant is the 5th collaboration between Michelin stared chef duo Adam and Albin and Specific Generic.
The central theme for the food served at the restaurant is the sun. When translating this idea into the architecture of the space, our thoughts turned to our solar system, where celestial bodies revolve around a centered sun. We let the walls fold around the fireplace like the orbital paths around the sun.
This manner of planning results in a space where not all of the room is revealed at once. We invite visitors to be curious and explore. Each table offers a unique view of the space.
The furniture choices have been inspired by the idea of the simple and good life that people from the north associate with the places we travel to experience the sun. Their simplicity resonates with the lighthearted atmosphere that we want to create.
The aim has been to keep the materials real and simple:a family of pine furniture including the curved chefs table and the wooden partition wall; the black chairs are coated with a traditional egg oil tempera; sofas are upholstered with leather. The large cone lamps are taken out of the production line before they are coated so that their raw metal finish is preserved. The bar is constructed out of mill finish stainless steel and fireplaces and water station are made from roughly cut granite blocks.
Our approach while working with the historic building has been to celebrate the contrast between the old and new additions. New walls are round, old ortogonal. New walls looks box fresh crisp besides the old that are left with a rich texture. The pillars with all of their historic layering appear almost like chiseled sculptures against the new curved smooth walls.The color that are applied to the walls is the shade you experience when warm sunlight hits a white wall and softens it’s appearance.
