Located in the epicenter of Paris, Miss Ko is a restaurant that brings its diners into a busy Asian street, electric with futuristic moving screens, pops of color and traditional Asian artwork. The design of the interior of Miss Ko is carefully concocted to create a moment of interaction between the user, or the diner, and the space that he or she occupies. Every element of the restaurant contributes to this chemical reaction, whether it be exposed brick on the wall or the borderline creepy murals of doll-eyed nudes, the food the guests enjoy, the Asian news stories playing on the screens that line that bar, or the enormous teapot-shaped lamp that hovers above a long, narrow, family-style table adorned with white candelabras and different colored glasses – every individual part becomes intertwined to evoke the feeling of truly being in a very different place than Paris’ golden triangle.
It’s impossible for the eye to rest on one object; the space is packed with pieces that beg for attention. However, the overarching goal of Miss Ko is not to let small tokens reflect a glimmer of a culture, but for the air to change, and for the entire atmosphere to breath with that culture. The layers that Philippe Starck has put in place for this latest project of his really create an overwhelming sense of kinetic curiosity, which is directly mirrored by the menu. Chef Fabrice Monot says that, ''Miss Kō is a fantastic project that gives me license to prepare dishes with diverse tastes that are simultaneously mild, more intense, and more aromatic. It’s truly a flavor clash. It is absolutely essential for me to make the Miss Ko restaurant the gold standard in culinary renewal,” and his words can easily apply to the eclectic space in which his cuisine is served.
April 15, 2013
Academy of Design Australia
Pforzheim University
Design Skolen Kolding
Scuola Politecnica di Design
LOFT 42
World Architecture Festival
