Cornerstone

Cornerstone restaurant opened by celebrated chef Tom Brown in Hackney Wick, London. The restaurant has been designed to connect the chef and his Cornish heritage with the industrial history of London’s East End. The central feature of the restaurant is a kitchen that sits in the middle of the room, allowing the diners to watch the chef and his team perform, while sitting at the tables arranged around it.

Architects Holland Harvey worked with Weber Industries to design and make this unique curved centrepiece. Richlite was specified to fulfil the architect's vision of a black monolithic design object, while also meeting the client's demand for a hardwearing structure. To make such a rigid material, which wants to stay flat, work with a curved design, Weber cleverly routed grooves into the reverse side, so it could now flex and be wrapped around the frame.

The form of the kitchen is singular, almost sculptural, yet it is driven by its functional requirements. Everything has been carefully considered to serve the day-to-day operations of a busy restaurant.