AALTO Part Of IYO is Claudio Liu's second restaurant, formerly at the helm of IYO Taste Experience, the first Japanese cuisine Michelin star restaurant. Designed by the architect Maurizio Lai and located in the Porta Nuova district at the foot of the Solaria Tower, a symbol of the rebirth of Milan, AALTO Part Of IYO takes an important step in the direction of traditional Japanese cuisine by marrying research and modernity.
The space, of 320 square meters, a continuous dynamism that finds a balance between visible and invisible, is composed of: a large open kitchen enclosed in a glass case; a cellar consisting of a polished stainless steel core with reflective smoked glass doors; an exclusive Sushi Banco room that reproduces the magic and rigor of the edomae zushi model of Tokyo for a few close friends; and finally, the Gastronomic Restaurant that filters with contemporary knowledge and creative ambition the immeasurable heritage of the traditions of the Rising Sun.
Natural materials, such as walnut wood, porphyry, brass and leather, blend in sophisticatedly technological elements while cleanliness and formal rigor define a language that refers to the Japanese tradition. Canaletto walnut and porphyry are the predominant materials in all spaces. The walls, never continuous, define and delimit the spaces without ever isolating them completely.
In the bathrooms, luminous lines play with vertical surfaces, mirrored at full height, alternating with back-lacquered glass plates. Floors and ceilings made with recycled glass grit slabs are reflected by multiplying the space, creating an unexpected effect. The electronic taps in polished finish stainless steel stand out in the setting together with the washbasins and supports also made of steel enlivened by round backlit mirrors.
«A restaurant» as defined by Architect Lai «with absolute flavor, in search of deep symmetries between places, moments of experience, aesthetic, tactile and material atmospheres».
Architecture – Maurizio Lai Architects
Photos – Andrea Martiradonna
