Umai Teppanyaki – Princess Cruises – Sun Princess

Submitted by: MRD Lighting
Lead Designer: Heather Konish, MRD Lighting
Outfitter used: IVM
Completion Date: 28/02/2024

The journey through Sun Princess’s Umai Teppanyaki Restaurant begins by stepping into a respite of underwater calm. The story being told within Umai is a prime example of how architectural lighting cannot only enhance the design and guest experience, but also be integral to the overall success of a venue. Designed for community and connection, Umai’s ambient lighting is kept low, allowing cozy pockets to naturally form around the pools of warm light and warm food. With a dramatic contrast between the counters and walkways, wayfinding is a key factor for both safety and story. Achieved with the use of soft sconces, it is subtle to allow guests to navigate the space without sensing anything out of place. With most lighting kept low, tables/counters become the primary focus hosting the community gathered for that evening. Chef stations bring the senses right to each guest, with dinner preparation right before them. Each station has its own light to allow chefs to see safely during their performance, and then turn off to allow guests to enjoy their meal in the full environment of the restaurant.

Around the restaurant itself, guests will notice features subtly highlighted that showcase the materiality and storytelling around the space. The driving force creating the atmosphere is the use of lighting panels integrated within the decorative hoods of both the central teppanyaki tables and hot pot stations. Delivering warm and cool tone lighting, the hoods allow the restaurant to adapt to time of day, transforming into a new experience at every meal. The darker tones on the walls and flooring allow the lighting to play with the textured and multi-faceted color palette created by iCrave. Floor to ceiling black mother of pearl tiles are bathed in a warm uplight to graze along the texture and ripples of color, drawing the eyes towards the custom painted cherry blossom ceiling. Flanking down the opposing wall, custom wooden window screens with a frosted lens washed in light to allow for patrons to feel transported to a Japanese restaurant with rice paper screens. Whispers of light dance across the feature sake display, bringing sparkle to the room and highlighting a cultural influence upon the restaurant. An under counter wash floats the stone counters to make them feel lighter. Custom koi murals along the walls get a soft touch of light to bring your eye completely around the room before settling back on the brightest section – your table, your chef, your community.