Lighting design as a part of a world-class dining experience
Restaurant Aira
Unique architecture in an environment close to the sea and nature makes AIRA, a 2-star MICHELIN restaurant a place for all senses. Sweco’s lighting designers have contributed to both interior lighting and exterior lighting.
Facts about the project
Client
Svenska Brasserier
Place
Stockholm, Sweden
Status:
Completed
Photographer:
Måns Berg
Lighting design highlights details and the whole experience
With natural, tactile materials and a delicate balance between light and reflections in the water, the building draws inspiration from the changing seasons of the archipelago. The facades of the buildings, made of light grey concrete and rust-colored Corten weathering steel, blend in with boathouses and shipyards, as if they have always been there. From dusk, the facade shimmers with a grid of small lanterns that create raking light. Indoors, the soft light and the glitter from the pier create an experience that sharpens the visitor’s senses.
The lighting ideas were sketched and tested with pen, paper, and full-scale models in recurring meetings with Sweco’s collaborator, the eminent Swedish architect Jonas Bohlin. With prototypes for different scenarios, the lighting design team developed a bespoke lighting where nothing has been left to chance.
Award-winning architectural lighting design project
Since opening in 2020, AIRA has been recognised and praised by both the design industry and the gastronomic world. The restaurant won the LIT Lighting Design Awards 2022 in the category Restaurant and Bar Lighting. AIRA has also been awarded Architects Sweden’s prestigious Guldstolen (Golden Chair) prize, where part of the motivation reads: “A dramaturgical total experience where deep knowledge of function and material, lighting design, and acoustics characterise the design. Care that is not only shown in the dining room – for the kitchen staff, this is a workplace to enjoy for many years.” AIRA was nominated for the renowned Dezeen Awards in 2021 in the category “Architectural Lighting Design” and won second place in the industry publications arc and darc, (d)arc awards for 2020.