At the back streets of Kings Cross amongst restaurants and pubs, stands the old building which houses Watermoon.

Facet Studio’s task was to change the original tired pub with a history over 15 years, to a restaurant which enables the enjoyment of Japanese cuisine alongside traditional sake. It was further requested by the client to communicate to people, even if they are looking on from the street, that Watermoon is a place where one can have both Japanese food and drink.

The characteristic of Japanese food, as represented by Sashimi, is to elaborate on the quality of raw material for a magical transformation to

culinary art. From this Facet Studio took clue to utilise the versatility of timber – which can be both structure and finish – all over the interior of Watermoon in various ways, to materialise the spirit of Japanese cuisine. By locating a lightbox at centre of the restaurant as a canvas to project colourful shadows of backlit sake bottles from within, its gentle illuminence brought out the prominence of timber in this space.

The interdependence between the raw material of timber, and the light filtered through sake bottles, represent the relationship between this restaurant’s main attractions – Japanese cuisine and sake.