Reclaimed Wood Clads This Japanese Izakaya's Origami-Like Interior in Montreal

If you've ever wanted to know what the inside of a piece of origami looks like, a visit to this stunning Japanese pub in the heart of Montreal will bring you pretty darn close.

Interior designer Jean de Lessard recently clad the contemporary Izakaya Kinoya with geometric pieces of recycled timber to create a dynamic environment perfect for knocking back cups of beer and sake. The wooden boards of hemlock and white spruce were reclaimed from local barns and were chosen for their ability to deflect sound waves and muffle ambient noise.

Montreal’s Izakaya Kinoya has been a hit on the city’s food scene since its opening in 2012, but Jean de Lessard’s recent renovation of the Japanese tapas bar is expected to draw even larger crowds eager to experience its chaotic, but cozy atmosphere. Covering an area of 4,500 square feet, the reclaimed wood creates a fractal geometry that is glue-laminated onto the walls and ceilings in all directions. Graffiti and other artwork reinforce the urban grittiness of the place. The furniture and lighting were reused from the restaurant’s previous design.

“It’s a fantasy cave where people are in a constant visual exploration mode,” says carpenter Dominic Samson, who handled the project’s woodworking. The restaurant is set inside a box frame to create a well-defined boundary between the mundane surrounding streetscape and the chaotic interior “that is totally focused on the business of partying.” Lessard created a vertical drop of four to five feet between the front and back parts of the ceiling to create a cocoon effect.