Tucked into the artistic neighbourhood of Melrose, Los Angeles, The Etherea is unlike any restaurant you have entered before — because entering it is only the beginning of the experience. Conceived by Art Center College of Design graduate Zeming Zhu as a “sensorial narrative Omakase,” the space weaves Suzhou cuisine together with bespoke perfume culture, using scent as a medium to carry guests through memory, place, and emotion. For this quietly revolutionary proposal, Zeming Zhu has been awarded the LIV Emerging Interior Designer of the Year – Eating Space. We sat down with the designer to understand how a flower-shaped pendant light and a perfume display table became the architecture of feeling.
The Etherea combines Suzhou cuisine with bespoke perfumery. Can you tell us about the specific warm memory from your own life that inspired this unique concept?
When I vision the Etherea space, I would like to create an unforgettable memory for the guest. In my own experience I remember lots of different scents, from food, nature or a certain piece of memory. Etherea using scents and taste as a medium to guide people through a piece of unique memory. Suzhou cuisine is significant in its various fragrant from ingredients, and it is a cursive that using scents to mimic a sense of environment in local Suzhou region. Therefore, I combine this cuisine and perfume culture to create the “memorable moment.”
You describe the restaurant as a sensorial narrative. If a guest walks in for the first time, what is the very first thing you want them to feel, see, and smell?
The guest would feel slowing down and wandering into this sanctuary that curated by various of scents, they will feel peaceful and calm at first; seeing the bamboo, natural materials and flowing forms of space, and smelling the scents of nature and various perfumes. These elements create an environment that intriguing and also tranquil.
You’ve mentioned that this space is meant to help people struggling with pressure. How can a dining room actually help someone heal from the stress of modern life?
In modern life, people facing the overwhelming amount of information and rapid changing surrounding. This disconnection from nature and people’s familiar environment would cause pressure. Etherea is a place that using scents therapy throughout the dining experience, inviting guest experience scents that feels like a piece of memory or nature. During this reconnection with nature and memory process, people will feel relaxed and comfortable. The food, scents, and environment working together to create a safe and tranquil nature for people to slow themselves down and ultimately relieve the pressure.
As a student at the Art Center College of Design, what was the most important lesson you learned that helped you shape the identity of The Etherea?
In Art Center College of Design, we learned to design for change, not only create a good looking space, but more to create a future scenario and a solution to better shaping the world. Therefore, I try to using spatial design to create a future experience to inspire people on possibilities of hospitality space and dining ritual.
Your project is located in Los Angeles but features Suzhou-inspired cuisine. How did you blend the fast-paced energy of LA with the traditional, poetic nature of a Suzhou garden?
I think LA is unique in its inclusiveness in terms of different culture, you could seen Hispanic, European, Asia , and Africa culture blending together and affect each other. This diversity inspired me to bring poetic and tranquil aspect of Suzhou Cusine into Melrose neighborhood in Los Angeles. I believe the Suzhou’s poetic will benefit the Melrose’s artistic vibe even more, and Melrose’s peaceful environment would create a nice backdrop for Suzhou cuisine’s tranquility.
The Etherea functions as both a retail perfume shop and an Omakase restaurant. How do you ensure the smell of the food and the smell of the perfume complement each other rather than compete?
The Omakase part of Etherea will happened in a semi enclosed dining area, and scent ritual will happened between each course being served, in this part, the scents fucntion as a background, and smells of food function as characters in this background. This, scents will become an element of dining ritual to harmonize with food.
As an FFE (Furniture, Fixtures, and Equipment) designer, was there a specific piece of furniture in this project that you felt was essential to telling the “scent story”?
I think the flower shaped pendant light in the entrance, and organic shaped perfume display table in the bar area telling the scent story very well. The pendant light sets up a form story of nature and floral fragrance vibe. And the perfume display table combines function and flowing forms to deliver the interactive experience for guest to pick their own perfumes and try out different scent samples.
You’ve just been named the Emerging Interior Designer of the Year for Eating Space. How did it feel when you realized your student project had gained such high-level international recognition from the LIV Hospitality Design Awards?
I feel very excited at first, and then feel it is a gift for my design career. And of course, it really encourages me to create more inspiring spaces in the future.
Now that you’ve set a new standard for sensory dining, what is next for you? Are there any upcoming projects or new “scent journeys” you are excited to explore?
My next step is using spatial and FFE design to merge cultures together to create some new experiences. I’m currently designing exhibition spaces and storefront for a luxury brand to tell the story of heritage crafts meets the modern living fashion.