[plico_breadcrumbs]

A contemporary Japanese restaurant featuring fusion cooking in the heart of Auckland’s restaurant district. The brief called for a custom design origami mobile featuring the ‘tsuru’, or ‘crane’, one of Japan’s iconic cultural symbols. The kinetic structure needed to fit in an existing glass atrium that had minimal vertical space but ample horizontal space. It was to be easily dismantled for cleaning from time to time.

A free moving mobile using stainless steel spars was constructed in three sections. The ‘tsuru’ were fabricated from a silver mosaic foil to capitalise on their reflection in the glass ceiling above. They were then coated with an acrylic polymer which enabled them to be cleaned with water when required. A wire harness placed in each bird during construction, ( yet invisible to the eye), enabled the attachment of lines and swivels to the central rig, thus ensuring maximum freedom of movement. Though the mobile was relatively short in height the reflection of the birds in the glass ceiling gave the impression of a vast flock and with the city skyline behind made for a dramatic illusion.