Tatami is a Japanese restaurant located in the business district of Kuwait. The design concept was derived from the integration of the “japanese tatami mats” (a method of planning) with the industrial ambiance of the city. A ratio of 2:1 was kept as a guiding design principle to the seating areas, wall cladding, lighting distribution, and circulation of the space.

The restaurant features a mixture of materials and textures that are intended to be subtle and harmonic to emphasize and contrast elements featured. The copper pipes are designed to distribute the lighting and also highlight the side seating and sushi bar to fuse an industrial vibe in the space. In addition, preserved portions of the concrete ceiling and columns are left untreated.

The exterior of the restaurant is designed to feature the color palette of the restaurant’s interior and to visually distinguish the restaurant’s elevation and entrance from the neighboring buildings. Therefore, a steel beam was extended between the building’s front columns at a 3m height with the lower portion of each column cladded with oxidized metal panels. Planters were also placed between the columns bordering an outdoor seating area from the street.