Dōgon is a new restaurant by Chef Kwame Onwuachi located inside the Salamander Hotel in Washington, D.C. Its name takes after Dogon, the tribe located largely in Mali, but has connections to the capital via Benjamin Banneker, a free African American and self-taught mathematician and astronomer who used astronomy to survey what became the capital city in 1791. His ancestry can be traced back to the Dogon people, who also have an innovative knowledge of mathematics and astronomy. The concept for the restaurant honors the local and historical figure, so Modellus Novus aptly designed the interior with this lineage as the concept—rendered in a seductive, futuristic style.
The 4,800-square-foot space was initially an open area with a bar on one side and a kitchen on the other and featured ample windows, the opposite of the immersive and dark atmosphere the architects intended. “A unique challenge was making the space feel like a complete escape from the surrounding hotel lobby, parking areas, and courtyard,” Jonathan Garnett, partner and creative director at the firm, told AN Interior. “The idea was to make it feel parallel to the hotel, not an extension of it, creating a distinct experience that allowed guests to momentarily leave behind the familiar.”
The architects created an otherworldly sense of place by introducing scale. They added large plaster columns that run down the length of the space in fields of two, extending down from recessed domes on the ceiling. Upon entry, these columns create a grand welcome area, sectioning off a box, lined by a curtain of metal chains, obscuring sightlines to create intrigue.
But while the columns provide the much needed spatial choreography and sense of place, they also tie to the restaurant’s concept. Garnett explained, “The field of columns was inspired by two main ideas: first, to break down the space into more intimate proportions using existing geometry and elements; and second, to draw from Malian and Dogon architectural precedents. Although few interior images of Dogon spaces exist, we found references to gathering spaces that used columns—an ancient technique for organizing space without walls.”
Beyond the entry lies the main dining room and lounge area, both of which continue the moody and cool tones, violet walls, and dark wood floors. The areas are lit strategically to mimic night skies. Above the columns, for instance, a pendant reflects cool, blue-toned light back onto the domes, cast back down over the columns. The lighting concept, continued Garnett, “aimed to capture the richness of nighttime as a tapestry of varied shades rather than a single, monolithic tone. A moonlight color temperature was employed to evoke a natural, cool atmosphere, and was paired with warmer, punctuated elements for contrast.” As such, on either side of the cool-toned columns, warm orbs dot the tables. The effect creates depth and mood. It’s meant to evoke the feeling of dining outside, as if around a fire.
The lighting works during the daytime, too. The metallic accessories, gun-metal tiles for the bar, and blue-tinted mirror create a glow in the evening but in the daytime reflect light to create a brighter atmosphere.
Blending both daytime and nighttime, historic references and futuristic aesthetics, Modellus Novus designed an interior that critically evades making a caricature of culture. Instead, Dōgon is unique in its weaving of local and global history, and it’s distinctly different from Chef Kwame Onwuachi’s other restaurant in New York, Tatiana, which the firm also designed. The nuanced interior is owed to the firm’s careful approach. “Rather than pulling something considered marginalized forward, we wanted to show that this artistry and knowledge have always been here and celebrate that rich, existing heritage,” said Garnett. “This approach was not about elevating something unknown but rather acknowledging the brilliance that has too often been overlooked.”