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The Moreton Fig Restaurant fulfilled the contemporary program for an upscale hospitality venue within a world-class university campus — providing an alternative dining option to alumni, faculty, recruits, parents and distinguished visitors.
The restaurant is part of a collection of hospitality elements that comprise the USC Ronald Tutor Campus Center, rebuilt around two Moreton Bay fig trees where students have gathered throughout the school’s history.
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Starting from a material strategy to acknowledge the iconic fig trees, walnut was chosen as the primary presence for the restaurant interior.
Striving for a new expression of the classic wood-paneled steakhouse, the restaurant acknowledges the welcoming sense of the wooded environment but challenges the typically shadow-filled space with nuanced displays of light.
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Cast glass, backlit figured acrylic and chain mail were connected to the walnut to create a divergent range of light transmittance and fine grade shadows.
The strategy of material contrast and complement extended to the mohair upholstery, highlighting the haptic opposition to the hardness of walnut.
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The two column elements and the free-form ceiling canopies were drawn from the formal archetype of the Moreton Figs outside the windows without mimicry.
A balance between the celebratory use of walnut and the light transmitting softer materials strived to create a dignified and sensory-rich experience.
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