Located in the public area of Orly International Airport’s South terminal, Parisian interior design agency Studio MHNA have designed a bright and attractive eatery – CUP restaurant.
CUP – Cuisine Urbaine Parisienne is located on the 1st floor of the terminal, in the public zone of the airport, therefore accessible to both those about to board a flight and those without a ticket. For this new restaurant, Studio MHNA created a warm and inviting interior inspired directly by the city of Paris, by mixing the iconic structures of the Pavilion Baltard with the energy of Parisian street art by graffiti artist DA CRUZ. The design makes the most of the 7 meter high ceilings of the historical terminal, inaugurated in 1961.
As long standing friends of CUP’s head chef and creator of its concept, Gilles Choukroun, the services of Studio MHNA’s founders – Marc Hertrich and Nicolas Adnet – were called upon to realise the restaurant’s décor as he envisioned it.
The objective? To create a lively space full of personality and good humour, whilst remaining resolutely urban and Parisian and celebrating the values of eating and living well.
The intention behind the design was to ensure that customers would immediately understand that the restaurant has a large and varied offering, which is both healthy and of a high quality. They wanted the space to appear attractive from the outset, and so created an entrance that invites people to come in and sit down. Inside, they arranged the space so that it would be accommodating to all kinds of clientele: those in groups, travelling alone, in a couple or as a family.
‘We wanted to create an ambience that was at once attractive, innovative, with a strong personality that engages and has a wide appeal at the same time…’ – Studio MHNA.
The concept was to evoke a space that inspires exchange and discovery, a lively, interactive public setting such as that of a market. The designers kept in mind the spirit of the open air food markets found in Paris that sell brightly colored quality produce brought in from the the nearby countryside, as well as fragrant spices and other merchandise that spark curiosity and create a sensation of surprise.
CUP is a large and welcoming open space, very clear in its distribution and its operation which encourages fluid movement and intermingling, to the point that it could almost be considered noisy, but overall is simply full of life.
A variety of different architectural and decorative languages are at play: urban, industrial structure, mixing of materials – glass, metal, concrete, wooden panels, slate boards, leather benches – nods to the city of Paris via street art murals, an oversized clock, and exposed brick walls.
Credit www.studiomhna.com and Francis Amiand for the images.
