Athera restaurant

This is a project that I had a lot of opportunity to work on: the Athera restaurant (Ephemera group) located in the Part Dieu shopping center in Lyon, France.

The Ephemera group specializes in pop-up restaurants, offering immersive dining experiences through decor, video projections, and themed dishes. The first theme for their restaurant was inspired by the movie “Avatar” by James Cameron.

The client’s request was to create a nighttime space that captures the essence of the night universe in the film. The focus was on bio-luminescence and video projection to create a captivating “wow” effect. A vegetated ceiling and decorative elements reminiscent of the film, such as the Tree of Life, were incorporated to enhance immersion.

Given the location in a shopping center with lighting regulations, creating a sufficiently dark atmosphere posed a challenge. For areas exposed to light, a separate decor was designed to represent the daytime universe of Avatar, featuring a lush jungle.

My mission for this project was quite global. I had to take care of the day areas (interior and terrace) in collaboration with Aglaé, a specialist in bioluminescent plants. I had to plan the layout of elements, select furniture, and ensure cohesion with the nighttime space. Technical plans, including table layout and accessibility considerations, were prepared for authorization from the shopping center.

Due to a late start and a limited team, the project had a tight timeline of less than six months for completion, unfortunately what had been initially planned for the daytime universe had to be reduced and reviewed to concentrate more on the «night» part.

Below are some photos showcasing the night space and the initial vision for the daytime areas.