Origine

Origine is a fine dining restaurant with a French inspired menu.

The project is located on the second floor of the North Western Corner of Commercial Bay, facing Quay Street. The room terminates in a vast double height glazed atrium facing the Waitemata harbour.

Our interpretation of French character came by referencing Pierre Chareau’s ‘Maison de Verre’ [Paris 1932]. This gave us a palette of steel, glass bricks, and red banding.

We used the glass bricks to enliven the mid-section of the space, making transparent structures for the bar and bar tables, and also sleeved an existing staircase in two glass brick panels, creating a miniature ‘building’ between the kitchen and dining room. This at once added a dimension of mystery and optical interest that changes with both daylight and artificial light.

The tall void is articulated with long vertical glass pendants, which occupy and address the huge space above the dining room, while not impeding on views across from the mezzanine bar area on the upper floor.