PROJECT TITLE: MANU
CATEGORY: interior design & branding
LOCATION: Megalou Alexandrou 102, Athens, Greece
AREA: 107 m2
PROJECT STATUS: completed, Jenuary 2024
LEAD DESIGNER: Miltos Kontogiannis
PROJECT MANAGER: Serafeim Pappas
DESIGN TEAM: Thomai Tsimpou
PHOTOGRAPHY: Alina Lefa
TEXT: Zoi Parasidi

Wise and virtuous, Manu was a forest dweller a long time ago. And one day, as he was standing by a river to meditate, a small fish spoke to him in a human voice, calling out to him, “Please help me, I am afraid of the bigger fishes that will eat me. I will reward you when the time comes.” Manu at once took the little fish and carried it to a puddle. Having sworn that he would protect it forever as it grew, he moved it from the puddle to a small lake, from the lake to a river, until the fish could make no other home but the ocean.

According to Hindu mythology, when the fish reached the ocean, it revealed itself to Manu, telling him that he was really Vishnu, a prominent deity. And when he was surprised, the fish revealed to him that a devastating flood would soon arrive and that he would have to build a huge ark and store the seeds of all the plants on the planet in it.

And after he had managed to survive the storm, Vishnu blessed Manu with power, wisdom and creativity, instructing him to regenerate the ruined earth, to recreate humans and demons, birds and animals. From this first man chosen to recreate the world, from this Hindu deity in the form of a fish, the branding of studiomateriality for a fine and modern fish restaurant in the Kerameikos area is inspired.

Dressed in sky-coloured tiles and a deep blue floor that looks like the sea, the interior design at Manu in Athens is in line with the culinary philosophy of its cuisine, it has something of Greece and something of Japan, it is elegant and casual at the same time. The wood paneling on one of the walls of the restaurant evokes Manu’s ark and the stalls of Japan’s most traditional ramen bars. This setting is enhanced by the sheet metal walls that delineate its open kitchen and make it look like a canteen, like a structure that could work on the street serving the equivalent food.

The lighting structures spread across the walls and curve like the turbulent waves that Manu passed. These structures frame a mural on the ceiling that, along with a sign on the front of the restaurant, could stand in a modern fishmonger’s shop and in this space symbolise the fresh raw material the kitchen works with.