In the middle of Norway’s Hardangerfjord sits Restaurant Iris, a restaurant located inside Salmon Eye, a floating structure that rises from the water with an architectural form inspired by the eye of a salmon.
Salmon Eye was designed by Kvorning Design and spans approximately 1,000 square meters. Its ellipsoidal structure is clad in around 9,500 stainless-steel panels that evoke the silvery scales of a fish while reflecting the changing light and colors of the fjord.
Inside is Iris, designed by Norm Architects. This is where one of the project’s most striking contrasts emerges: while the exterior is defined by steel and a futuristic appearance, the interiors rely on materials, textures and forms designed to create a warmer, more intimate atmosphere.
Images via Norm Architects
Getting to the restaurant is also part of the experience. Guests depart from Rosendal aboard an electric boat and travel across the fjord. The journey includes a stop at chef Anika Madsen’s boathouse, where the culinary experience begins before guests even arrive at Salmon Eye.
The concept is called “Expedition Dining”: an approach in which the journey, landscape, architecture and gastronomy become part of a single narrative.
That is one of the most interesting aspects of Iris: the experience does not begin when the first dish arrives. It starts with the journey across the fjord and continues through every space, view and moment along the way.
Rather than simply designing a restaurant, Iris shows how architecture and gastronomy can work together to create a complete experience around something as everyday as sitting down for a meal.
Source: Norm Architects