For top chef Koen Verjans’ star restaurant Innesto in Zonhoven, we designed a sleek, rural new building. Through the glass front door, the space is flooded with friendly Limburg atmosphere, all the way through to the outside terrace. This is also one of the reasons the actual building volume has been kept rather compact. Being a star restaurant, obviously the standards are extremely high. However, the new restaurant had to still personify its warm character. Testimony to this is the homely atmosphere inside, with the intimately decorated dining area seamlessly connecting the open kitchen and charming garden. In fact, that kind of smooth merging of indoors and outdoors is characteristic of all of our projects, as is the mix of rural and modern touches, often visible in the choice of large windows, constructed with clean, ultrafine window profile.
During the elaboration of the interior, we paid extra attention to finding the correct balance between aesthetics and the way a restaurant functions efficiently. Apart from the choice of sustainable and easy-to-maintain materials, acoustics were also important. All seating has therefore been upholstered, acoustic wall panels stylishly integrated and the central, upholstered seating island again acts as a perfect noise buffer. Bronze elements, dotted around and subtly lighting up the space, perfectly bring the interior together.
Innesto’s first floor houses a dedicated drinks lounge for pre and after drinks, whilst the wine cellar doubles up as a private dining area. Since the building is compact and serves the efficient running of the restaurant, the office, lavatories, as well as stock and technical areas have been installed in the cellar. What makes this project extra special, is the fact we were commissioned a product design for the first time: we designed the coffee and dessert trolley, used as the apotheosis of every meal.
