HBA Designs Casino and Restaurant for the World Traveler; Takes Design Cues From Fashion Capitals of the World
Touting itself as an ‘Art-tainment’ resort, the Paradise Casino Incheon is a part of Paradise City, the first complete Korean-style resort in Northeast Asia combining multi-purpose hospitality and entertainment facilities. The resort offers a luxury hotel, casino, convention center, retail center, spa, and art gallery, serving as a destination in itself for the property and an excellent cultural experience.
Inspired by the property’s location, just minutes from the bustling hub of the Incheon International Airport in Seoul, Korea, Hirsch Bedner Associates – HBA’s team of casino designers infused the idea of a world traveler into their casino and restaurant designs for the property. The resort offers five gaming zones and the five restaurants, including Raku and Imperial Treasure inspired by the world’s leading cities in the fashion world.
“Our clients entrusted us with creating the biggest property of its kind in Korea and we did not take that responsibility lightly,” said HBA Partner Carlos Francisco Jr. “My design team and I worked hand-in-hand with the client; they listened to our creative ideas and took our recommendations, making for a seamless and successful design process – creative boundaries disappeared when another level of trust was shown and our design is result of that partnership.” Francisco has served as the lead designer for multiple casino design projects internationally including the Wynn Macau, Encore Macau, Wynn Palace, Encore Las Vegas and Wynn Boston Harbor.
Drawing from the world traveler theme, each gaming zone represents a fashion capital in the world, weaving in subtle design elements from Paris, Rome, London, New York and Seoul. Revered as the fashion icon of the world, the Parisian-inspired Sky Casino showcases the highest level of design with crystal chandeliers, luxurious finishes and an overall glamorous experience. The VIP Gaming section, inspired by Rome, features touches of Roman architecture with grand columns and gold double-layered ceilings. The VIP Gaming section takes cues from London with an entrance reminiscent of the iconic London red telephone booth with architectural details inspired by the Tower of London. The main gaming area is an amalgamation and celebration of New York and Seoul and their international impact on the fashion world. An axis was laid on the floor to represent the center of the universe in the main gaming area to tie together the design.
The Michelin star awarded Chinese restaurant, Imperial Treasure, offers a luxurious dining experience that starts with a dramatic entry point. HBA designers created a moon gate tunnel entrance with historic design elements to align with the restaurant’s Cantonese offerings. A wall of zodiac and high ceilings shape the space along with a contemporized palate of rich red, blue and yellow tones reminiscent of colors found in a Chinese temple.
Raku is a contemporary fine dining Japanese restaurant with a modern atmosphere shape through the vibrant use of colors. The entry uses oversized chopsticks in a clever way for a stylized entry. Colors inspired by hanafuda Japanese playing cards, the space features architectural screens at the exterior wall with a suspended ceiling over the sushi bar to represent the house of the rising sun.
