{"id":149520,"date":"2025-11-23T10:59:11","date_gmt":"2025-11-23T10:59:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/149520\/"},"modified":"2025-11-23T10:59:11","modified_gmt":"2025-11-23T10:59:11","slug":"urba-uses-reclaimed-materials-to-craft-interior-for-onyx-aether-restaurant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/149520\/","title":{"rendered":"URBA uses reclaimed materials to craft interior for Onyx \u00c6ther restaurant"},"content":{"rendered":"

Furniture made from melted aluminium<\/a> and compressed wool features in this fine-dining restaurant<\/a> in Budapest<\/a>, Hungary, which architecture firm URBA designed to highlight sustainability and local identity.<\/p>\n

URBA<\/a> collaborated with artists Esteban de la Torre and Judit Eszter K\u00e1rp\u00e1ti of art studio Ejtech<\/a> and the owners of Onyx to develop an interior for the restaurant that merges art, science and sustainable gastronomy.<\/p>\n

\"OnyxOnyx \u00c6ther features on the shortlist for the Dezeen Awards 2025<\/p>\n

The project, which has made the shortlist for Dezeen Awards 2025<\/a> in the restaurant interior category, aims to complement the immersive hospitality concept by utilising motion, lighting and audio to create a multi-sensory experience.<\/p>\n

Onyx \u00c6ther offers an 11-course menu that explores centuries of innovation, from the first established restaurant to the industrial revolution and a speculative future where humans have colonised the planet Mars.<\/p>\n

\"URBA-designedURBA used reclaimed materials to craft the “multi-layered” interior<\/p>\n

The restaurant’s owners wanted to create a dynamic, evolving space that acknowledges the past and celebrates the local culture and context, while supporting an experimental approach to hospitality.<\/p>\n

“A timeless, multi-layered environment, poetically weaves together universal themes around transience and impermanence,” explained URBA.<\/p>\n

“As the evening unfolds, the space morphs seamlessly, guiding guests on an immersive journey from plate to palate, engaging their senses and intuition in a continuous flow of experience.”<\/p>\n

\"Large-scaleThe central table is complemented by a large-scale textile installation developed by Ejtech<\/p>\n

The interior’s raw, preserved walls aim to honour the building’s history and provide a backdrop for a sunken communal table where guests are guided through the meal.<\/p>\n

The central table is complemented by a large-scale textile installation developed by Ejtech. The draped fabric is animated by a series of motors, allowing the room’s spatial configuration to be adjusted throughout the evening.<\/p>\n

\"Raw,Raw, preserved walls honour the building’s history<\/p>\n

Onyx \u00c6ther’s strong focus on sustainability is reflected in the interior’s use of locally sourced, repurposed or waste materials, including surplus wool felt that was salvaged from a local mill.<\/p>\n

The dense, machine-pressed wool is combined with a natural resin and layered to form a sofa system intended to evoke the stratification of the Earth’s crust over many millennia.<\/p>\n

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Ste Marie designs trio of atmospheric hospitality venues in Edmonton\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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Other furniture items, including the irregularly shaped tables and partition screens, were made using melted-down aluminium construction waste that was cast without moulds to eliminate the need for industrial production processes.<\/p>\n

“The organically textured blocks shimmer with imperfections, proudly showcasing their reclaimed origins and embodying a sense of movement and adaptability,” the designers explained.<\/p>\n

\"IrregularlyIrregularly shaped tables feature throughout<\/p>\n

The project focused on minimising waste during construction and reducing the overall carbon footprint by utilising local materials.<\/p>\n

The decision to preserve the walls and ceilings in their original state negated any unnecessary building work, while the inclusion of locally sourced pebbles eliminated the emissions associated with long-haul transport.<\/p>\n

\"URBA-designedURBA is an architecture and interior design studio with offices in Budapest and Vienna<\/p>\n

“From the rolling gravel reminiscent of the Danube’s banks to the deliberate use of Hungarian materials and techniques, the design roots itself in local identity while embracing a global vision of sustainability,” URBA pointed out.<\/p>\n

“It invites guests not just to dine but to engage deeply with the space, making each visit personal, inventive and profoundly meaningful.”<\/p>\n

URBA is an architecture and interior design studio with offices in Budapest and Vienna. It was shortlisted for Dezeen Awards 2022<\/a> in the emerging interior design studio category for its work across the residential, hospitality and service industries.<\/p>\n

The photography is courtesy of URBA.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Furniture made from melted aluminium and compressed wool features in this fine-dining restaurant in Budapest, Hungary, which architecture…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":149521,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[3338,442,498,499,500,44273,501,156,6803,4175,111,139,69,10270,1621,1622,12970],"class_list":{"0":"post-149520","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-aluminium","9":"tag-arts","10":"tag-arts-and-design","11":"tag-artsanddesign","12":"tag-artsdesign","13":"tag-budapest","14":"tag-design","15":"tag-entertainment","16":"tag-furniture","17":"tag-hungary","18":"tag-new-zealand","19":"tag-newzealand","20":"tag-nz","21":"tag-restaurants","22":"tag-sectionall","23":"tag-sectioninteriors","24":"tag-wool"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149520","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=149520"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149520\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/149521"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=149520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=149520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=149520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}