Tom Dixon completes Éclectic restaurant in Paris

British designer Tom Dixon‘s interior for Paris restaurant Éclectic combines raw, industrial concrete surfaces with tactile brass, marble and leather details.

Tom Dixon completes Éclectic restaurant in Paris

Commissioned by restaurateurs Fabienne and Philippe Amzalak, the restaurant is the first flagship interior in France to be completed by Dixon‘s interior design office, Design Research Studio.

Tom Dixon completes Éclectic restaurant in Paris

Located in the Beaugrenelle Centre – a redevelopment of a monolithic concrete shopping mall originally opened in 1978 – the 160-cover brasserie features materials and motifs intended as an homage to 1970s brutalist architecture.

Tom Dixon completes Éclectic restaurant in Paris

“Tom Dixon began with the idea of making the restaurant an integral part of its modernist surroundings,” explained a statement from Éclectic. “The technical areas of the building are exposed for maximum space, and concrete – the superstar of brutalism – is exploited in every possible texture.”

Tom Dixon completes Éclectic restaurant in Paris

Concrete floors are left raw in places and waxed in others, while structural columns and ceiling beams are left exposed and the material is juxtaposed with warm brass panels on the walls.

Tom Dixon completes Éclectic restaurant in Paris

The angular forms popularised by exponents of Brutalist architecture influenced the recurring use of geometric shapes, which appear in the hexagonal wall panels, the sharp edges of the panels surrounding the circular booths, and a faceted plinth at the entrance.

Tom Dixon completes Éclectic restaurant in Paris

Fitted furniture creates different environments throughout the space, while brass table tops and benches upholstered in fabric and leather give the seating areas a warm and tactile feel.

Tom Dixon completes Éclectic restaurant in Paris

A long curving bench provides seating with a view of the river Seine through full-height windows.

Tom Dixon completes Éclectic restaurant in Paris

The interior features several examples of Dixon’s furniture and lighting, including a huge central chandelier made from 124 of his Cell lights.

Tom Dixon completes Éclectic restaurant in Paris

Pieces including high tables with inverted conical tops, rounded sinks in the bathrooms that resemble Dixon’s Void lamps, and the angular podium at the entrance provide a sculptural presence.

Eclectic Restaurant by Tom Dixon_dezeen_5

As well as the Cell chandelier, smaller clusters of the lamps illuminate tables, while Dixon’s Etch lights, Base lamp and Lustre pendants also feature.

Tom Dixon completes Éclectic restaurant in Paris

Photography is by Thomas Duval.

The following information is from Éclectic:


Tom Dixon’s Éclectic opens in the Beaugrenelle Centre, Paris

After relooking Le Bon and launching Ma Cocotte, Fabienne and Philippe Amzalak open Éclectic restaurant this January in the magnetically attractive surroundings of the Beaugrenelle Centre in the 15th arrondissement of Paris. For this address within an address, the couple entrusted the design brief to UK designer Tom Dixon’s Design Research Studio: its first flagship interior in France. The menu offerings give a contemporary twist to brasserie classics in this new 160-cover eatery.

Tom Dixon completes Éclectic restaurant in Paris

A happy marriage between Parisian chic and British eccentricity, a free-form tribute to 1970s architecture and a new take on the traditional brasserie format to create a more private and more comfortable experience. The clue to the identity of Eclectic is right there in the name: a concept that mixes influences on the menu and in the restaurant.

70’S First

Tom Dixon completes Éclectic restaurant in Paris

Tom Dixon began with the idea of making the restaurant an integral part of its modernist surroundings. The technical areas of the building are exposed for maximum space, and concrete – the superstar of brutalism – is exploited in every possible texture.

Tom Dixon completes Éclectic restaurant in Paris
On the walls, it alternates with a backdrop of golden brass. On the floors, it is sometimes unfinished, sometimes waxed, and interspersed with areas of thick carpet to offset its potentially cold appearance.

Tom Dixon completes Éclectic restaurant in Paris

Hexagons are used as a recurring theme, recalling the geometric and modular concepts of the 1970s. This theme is clear in the spaces formed by the interlocking central bench seats, the brass detailing that frames the view to the kitchen, and again in the design of the 124 metal lampshades of the chandelier, which presides over the dining room as the central pivot of its decorative style.

Tom Dixon completes Éclectic restaurant in Paris

English Twists

Lighting is central to Tom Dixon’s design scheme, which showcases his talent for creative mood making. An orchestra of different lamps provides controlled lighting designed to reflect effectively from superb surfaces of wood, metal, stone and paint, and enhance the colours used for fabrics and leathers.

Tom Dixon completes Éclectic restaurant in Paris

This scheme creates an interior where the influence of the architectural environment is balanced against the magnetic appeal of the department stores.

Tom Dixon completes Éclectic restaurant in Paris

The bespoke furniture is sculptural, even jewel-like in places. It structures the dining room around key elements that include the imposing coloured leather bench seats, the central alcoves and a succession of small open lounges along the wall overlooking the River Seine.

Tom Dixon completes Éclectic restaurant in Paris

The result is a hyperquality mix-and-match that is elegantly welcoming and makes the 300 m2 dining room an intimate and friendly space.

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Restaurant at the Royal Academy by Tom Dixon

New Royal Academy Restaurant by Tom Dixon

British designer Tom Dixon has completed the interior of the new restaurant at the Royal Academy of Arts in London.

New Royal Academy Restaurant by Design Research Studio

Created for restauranteur Oliver Peyton of Peyton & Byrne, the dining area features a free-standing metal-framed glass unit to house sculptures that were previously hidden away in the Academy’s archives.

New Royal Academy Restaurant by Design Research Studio

A bar made of lava stone and handmade bricks lines one end of the room, while the dining area has been divided into zones each inspired by an architect or artist key to the Academy’s history, including John Soane and J.M.W Turner.

New Royal Academy Restaurant by Design Research Studio

Furniture and lighting designed by Dixon also features, including a new range of chairs and the perforated Etch lamps (see our earlier story), which hang in clusters.

New Royal Academy Restaurant by Design Research Studio

Dixon oversaw the project as creative director of interior design firm Design Research Studio.

New Royal Academy Restaurant by Design Research Studio

More projects by Tom Dixon »
More restaurants/bars on Dezeen »

New Royal Academy Restaurant by Design Research Studio

Here’s some more information from Design Research Studio:


Interior design practice, Design Research Studio, under the direction of British designer Tom Dixon, are creating the interior for the new restaurant at the Royal Academy of Arts. This is the latest project for renowned restaurateur Oliver Peyton of Peyton and Byrne. The 150 cover restaurant will open to the public 18th January 2011.

The 250 m2 refurbishment references the long and illustrious history of the Royal Academy of Arts with materials chosen to complement the existing fabric of the Regency building including marble, brass and velvet.

The dining area is divided into different zones, with each area inspired by the work of a different Royal Academy Great such as Turner and Sir John Soane. To extend the gallery experience for diners, Design Research Studio has designed a dramatic free-standing unit in the centre of the space. Consisting of a number of glass cubes, the structure will house an extraordinary selection of sculptures and busts dating back to 1897. The pieces belong to the Royal Academy of Arts permanent collection but have long been stored out of public view.

The new bar is set to be a key focal point in the restaurant made from Mount Etna lava stone and hand-made glazed brick. Designed as a robust, sculptural object, its grandeur is enhanced by a dramatic cast glass chandelier suspended above. Other interior highlights include digitally etched brass pendant lights and injection-moulded foam seating.


See also:

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Paramount by
Design Research Studio
Shoreditch House by
Design Research Studio
Flash Factory by
Tom Dixon