fbpx DAN | Daily Architecture News A 1960s London post office is now a swinging sushi restaurant - DAN | Daily Architecture News
A 1960s London post office is now a swinging sushi restaurant

A 1960s London post office is now a swinging sushi restaurant

Hospitality Design
News
08-06-2021
WATCH: Global architecture and design highlights, including the Maido sushi restaurant in London by Child Studio.

In the St John’s Wood district of Westminster, not far from the Abbey Road crossing made famous by The Beatles, a former London post office became a rich source of inspiration for Child Studio. The British design firm drew upon the storied past of the decommissioned building and its surrounds to transform the 170-square-metre interior into the latest Maido sushi restaurant.

“The post office was built in the 1960s and our design pays tribute to London’s modernist heritage of that era,” explains Alexy Kos and Che Huang, co-founders of Child Studio. “Our aim was to rediscover and celebrate the unique history of this building and the neighbourhood.”

Maido sushi restaurant by Child Studio occupies a former post office in London
Maido sushi restaurant by Child Studio occupies a former post office in London
Maido sushi restaurant in London by Child Studio.

Maido sushi restaurant in London by Child Studio

The late-modernist building casts its gaze along the leafy main street, watching over a nearby greengrocer and bookseller, a bank, library and a scattering of chic eateries and boutiques. Out the front, colourful blooms spill over pots suspended from typical London lampposts.

Inside the restaurant, the moody dining room welcomes visitors with a refreshing blend of European and Japanese design influences. “The Japanese references are subtle,” say the Child Studio team. “[They] present themselves through the choice of materials, the play of geometric patterns and the hand-crafted woodwork detailing.” 

The dialogue between the East and West begins with the selection of antique and modern furniture: tubular steel chairs by Mies Van Der Rohe and moulded plywood armchairs by Norman Cherner (designed in 1958) are paired with cast-aluminium stools by Japanese designer Naoto Fukasawa. 

Maido sushi restaurant by Child Studio occupies a former post office in London
Maido sushi restaurant by Child Studio occupies a former post office in London

The post office was built in the 1960s and our design pays tribute to London’s modernist heritage of that era.

Alexy Kos and Che Huang Co-founders, Child Studio

Sixties style is introduced throughout the restaurant with walls lined in dark cherrywood panelling. Large abstract paintings are tucked within shallow timber-framed alcoves, set between brass wall sconces by Stilnovo, the Italian pioneers of rationalist design. 

Overhead, Child Studio devised a suspended coffered ceiling – reminiscent of the pattern created by Japanese shoji screens – finished in a soft blue hue. The straightforward geometric layout of the ceiling is echoed on the floor, where a smaller grid of black quarry tiles provides gentle detail underfoot. 

The star attraction of the restaurant is perhaps the open kitchen where the reflective steel panelling of the counter-front is partnered with a 1960s ‘Pipistrello’ lamp, designed by Italian architect Gae Aulenti. Behind the counter, Maido’s sushi master prepares and plates-up authentic Japanese cuisine, from eel and masago California rolls to “fatty tuna” sashimi.

Towards the rear of the restaurant, a curved glass-brick wall splits the dining room into two, creating a semi-private area. As daylight filters through the sheer curtains and the textured glass, a familiar atmosphere is born. “The inspiration for this feature came from the St John’s Wood Library, the next-door building of the same era,” say Alexy and Che. “The library entrance is a beautiful combination of square glass blocks and dark wooden framework.”

In other areas, sake bottles, arrangements of flowering cherry blossom and tea sets (comprising contemporary pots and traditional Japanese cups) reference typical Japanese eateries. Dovetailed with mid-century finishes and iconic furnishings, the result is a convivial place that balances cross-cultural cool with a touch of nostalgia. 

childstudio.co; maidosushi.com

Maido sushi restaurant by Child Studio occupies a former post office in London
Maido sushi restaurant by Child Studio occupies a former post office in London
Maido sushi restaurant by Child Studio occupies a former post office in London

Catch up on more hospitality architecture and design and retail design, plus subscribe to receive the Daily Architecture News e-letter direct to your inbox.

Related stories

Advertisement
Login to join the conversation

Subscriber comments are moderated first. Respect others. Criticise ideas, not people. No offensive language View commenting guidelines

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Further Reading
View all in Hospitality Design
'Pure gold': Au79 cafe at Chadstone by Mim Design 
In addition to this, the client’s brief included the desire to create “a moment of pure gold,” Miriam reveals, prompting her team at Mim Design to craft a textural, gilded oasis within the confines of Chadstone. The dramatic, vaulted glass ceiling above the pill-shaped site inspired the designers to explore ideas of replicating a greenhouse […]
Hospitality Design
28-06-2222
Galei Kinneret Hotel in Israel by Saar Zafrir Design
Dating back to 1946, the Galei Kinneret boasts a rich and storied history. The founder, inspired by a trip she took to the Villa d’Este hotel on Lake Como, fitted it out with Persian rugs and antiques she had procured from all over the world. While its monumental facade has remained intact, its latest reimagining […]
Hospitality Design
16-06-2222
Haute hotel: Inside the long-awaited Aman New York
Guided by the pulse of the city and imbued with Aman’s inimitable design philosophy – one that pays homage to the striking architectural history of the original building – Aman New York is a lesson in understated elegance and urban comfort. The hotel welcomes its guests 14 floors above street level, where a double-height atrium instills […]
Hospitality Design
11-06-2222
Hotel Cala Di Volpe in Sardinia by Moinard Bétaille Agency
A retelling of sorts, Moinard Bétaille’s gentle approach to the renovation of Hotel Cala di Volpe on Sardinia’s Costa Smeralda pays homage to its original architect, the late “sculptor of houses” Jacques Couëlle, with a new narrative that speaks of a storied past while being anchored firmly in the present. Four years in the making, […]
Hospitality Design
09-06-2222
Paved paradise: Fish Lane Town Square by Richards & Spence
Fish Lane Town Square by Richards & Spence Fish Lane in South Brisbane is such a place. It’s a laneway that services during the day a collection of old and new with unplanned qualities, allowing a shortcut between the cultural precinct and West End. In recent years, the laneway, with landscape design by RPS Group, […]
Hospitality Design
06-06-2222
Hotel Terrestre in Mexico by Alberto Kalach/TAX
As the newest member of the Grupo Habita family of lifestyle hotels, Terrestre’s sustainable ethos and commitment to providing a “sanctuary of rest and relaxation” makes it an ideal getaway for rejuvenation. Architect Alberto Kalach and his team at Taller de Arquitectura X (known simply as TAX) took the client’s vision for the retreat and […]
Hospitality Design
26-05-2222

Back to Top