SPHERA is a brand-new kosher restaurant in the Rehovot area of Israel. The restaurant’s head chef is a Cordon Bleu graduate who trained at the famed Noma restaurant in Copenhagen.
Housed in a 600m² space, with 150m² used as designated kitchen space. With such a significant sized floorplan, the lighting design was integral to create the intimate atmosphere desired by the restaurant and diners alike.
Designed by architect Marco Sbarra, the restaurant incorporates a number of unique details. The lighting design, created by Ben Alon, takes all of these features into account and ensures that all spaces and materials get the attention they deserve.
Every luminaire in the restaurant has a purpose; illuminating the restaurant tables, the bottles display, the back of the bar and the bar itself. The lighting in each area is designed to work independently and within the overall surroundings.
The architectural lighting that illuminates the dishes and the diners has been specified to consist of the richest available spectrum. This ensures both the food, and the guests are illuminated with true colour. In most cases, the light has been arranged to be located only to the table area; for guests this creates an intimate atmosphere with each light beam encompassing the dining party. The light then gently fades around into the surroundings.
The Zero Compaso, Pixo and Ovo luminaires with dim2warm feature, from formalighting change their hue and get warmer as the evening sets in. This complements the golden atmosphere all around the restaurant.
The idea behind the bold lighting design is to create motion to set a lively atmosphere within the restaurant, but without guests explicitly noticing it. For example, the power-wall employs a light intensity variation, where every bulb is controlled independently.
For atmosphere control, RGBW has been incorporated in the decorative hanging light elements to allow setting various wonderful scenarios. The light bodies slowly and ever slightly change their colour between orange, purple and warm white, creating a warm feeling as the light keeps the restaurant vibe in motion.
