400 RABBITS
CRYSTAL PALACE
The clients came to me with a start up idea for a pizza restaurant called ‘400 Rabbits’ inspired by Aztec folklore. The story goes two fermentation loving gods ‘got it on’ one night and spawned a bunch of offspring known as the Centzon Totochtin AKA 400 Rabbit Gods. These rabbit gods liked to party, drink and generally get into mischief. So 400 RABBITS is a celebration of two of the best things those fermentation gods ever gave us – sourdough pizza and beer.
Our take on this was that the space had to be playful and fun, we were shunning the traditional pizza décor. We decided to reflect the beautifully simple approach to pizza via a design that was equally as fresh as the ingredients and not remotely traditional. Skewing the Italian aesthetic by warping the classic red and green, into pink and jade the colour palette feels at once striking and memorable.
Our brief was to create a futureproof and forward looking interior in a constantly shifting sector. Our aim was to stand out within a crowded pizza restaurant market and to celebrate our London roots in a mainly Italian sector. We wanted a versatile interior that would appeal to a broad audience from families to hipsters and a design concept that would work in local neighbourhoods right through to airports.
The joinery and details were kept simple using standard timbers and pegboard to create a layered back-drop to the colours strong architecture and artwork – which was designed in conjunction with Junction Studio.
“Being shortlisted from the 2016 Bar & Restaurant Design awards is testament to Celia’s creative and inspiring interior design, nailing our brief on our somewhat limited budget. We look forward to working with Celia again in the future.”
