affect studio: hashi mori chopstick forest

hashi mori chopstick forest at ‘izakaya japanese kitchen’ by affect studio, berlin, germany all images courtesy of affect studio

berlin and los angeles-based design firm affect studio (sofia borges and bjørn hoffmann) has sent us exclusive images of ‘izakaya japanese kitchen’, a restaurant located in the center of berlin. hovering over the main seating area is an installation of hand dyed chopsticks, all 13,454 of which have been drilled, threaded and attached to a suspended ceiling. overall, the canopy is a union between the traditional symbolism of the material and the modern technology used to design the feature. overall, the chopstick forest measures 56 sq. meters (602 sq. feet), uses 20 kilometers (12 miles) of nylon and took a crew of 14 people three weeks to complete.

view of the undulating chopstick canopy

interior view from seating level

view from below 

custom textured wallpaper 

custom wallpaper, hand drawn on the computer and processed by a customized script, is hung on the back wall of the restaurant. due to the lighting, the texture is recognizable from far away as a forest with the word ‘hashi’ visible in the surface, but from close up, it dissolves into a line drawing. 

seating area

detail of inset lighting 

exterior signage 

façade of restaurant 

the making of hashi mori  video © affect studio

the staining of the chopsticks

nylon is woven through the top 

the chopsticks are attached to canvas and suspended from the ceiling 

process images

view from above

rendering of suspended chopsticks 

division of installation into eight units 

exterior elevation