MORIMOTO ASIA RECEIVES AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS ORLANDO “DESIGN BUILT AWARD OF MERIT”

(Orlando, Fla. — April 25, 2016) — Morimoto Asia at Disney Springs, Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto’s first pan-Asian restaurant, received the Design Built Award of Merit from the American Institute of Architects (AIA). The AIA Awards Gala honored the best of architectural design in Central Florida at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday, April 23. As one of Florida’s most prestigious and inclusive honors in exemplary design, the award celebrates the newly opened restaurant alongside celebrated architects, designers and key industry professionals both theoretical and built projects.

In collaboration with STUDIO V Architecture and Patina Restaurant Group, Morimoto Asia’s complex design pays homage to the industrial history of the pre-existing space, rebuilt with a strong contemporary twist. The delicacy and vibrancy of traditional Asian motifs juxtaposes a theatrical backdrop for a fine-dining experience. The ambiance complements the cuisine aiming to inspire and excite through an innovative experience.

“We are so proud to accept this prestigious award as Morimoto Asia is a true work of art,” said Robert Consla, Vice President, Project Development at Patina Restaurant Group as he accepted the award. “The restaurant embodies a fantastic mixture of industrial, contemporary and Asian elements making it an experience like no other. We are so honored to be among the best architectural designs in Central Florida within the restaurant’s first year of opening.”

The dramatic space includes a multi-level bar, upper mezzanine and two levels of outdoor terraces. The industrial “bottling factory” façade is reimagined by a triple-height wall of windows and conveyor belts of illuminated glass bottles, spiraling into a chandelier. The restaurant’s dramatic winding sculptural bar at over 270 feet in length is one of the largest in the world, as it leaps and snakes through the soaring 36-foot tall space to connect the grand dining room on the ground floor with the upper level, wrapping around the grand stairway.

Morimoto Asia is open Sunday 11:30 a.m. to 1 a.m.; Monday through Thursday 11:30 a.m. to 12 a.m.; Friday and Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. The restaurant’s second floor Forbidden Lounge late-night menu is served daily from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. For more information on Morimoto Asia visit www.morimotoasia.com – http://www.morimotoasia.com/ – or call (407) 939-MOTO.

About Patina Restaurant Group — Patina Restaurant Group (www.patinagroup.com) is a bicoastal boutique company and leader in the premium segment of the restaurant industry. In New York, its portfolio features the Michelin-starred Lincoln Ristorante, STATE Grill and Bar at the Empire State Building, Stella 34 Trattoria at Macy’s Herald Square, The Sea Grill at Rockefeller Center, Brasserie, Brasserie 8 1/2, The Grand Tier Restaurant at the Metropolitan Opera, La Fonda Del Sol at Grand Central, and The Rink at Rockefeller Center. Other East Coast properties include Tutto Italia Ristorante and Via Napoli at the Epcot World Showcase in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. On the West Coast its portfolio includes the renowned Los Angeles Times’ four-starred and Michelin-starred Patina Restaurant in Walt Disney Concert Hall, Café Pinot, Ray’s & Stark Bar, Catal and Naples in Anaheim’s Downtown Disney District, Leatherby’s Cafe Rouge, and catering and food service in museums and cultural centers throughout California.

About STUDIO V Architecture — In just nine years, STUDIO V Architecture has grown to one of New York City’s most innovative design firms. The Studio’s designs focus on explorations of contemporary culture in the most urban environment at every level: ground up buildings, radical interiors, innovative public spaces, and massive urban designs. The firm insists that every project is an expression of a unique place and encompass a range of unconventional approaches to structure, form, materials, and lighting. Current projects include the historic Empire Store warehouses next to the Brooklyn Bridge, cut through by a glass courtyard with a rooftop public park; a new center for the arts in the Park Theater, Rockaways; and new waterfront communities and parks that are re-inventing the East River in New York City.
About Masaharu Morimoto

Perhaps most recognizable as the star of Iron Chef and Iron Chef America, Chef Masaharu Morimoto has created a bridge between the culinary traditions of his native Japan and the American palate, bringing intense excitement, exquisite technique, and perfectly balanced flavors to thousands of diners throughout the world. He has garnered critical and popular acclaim for his seamless integration of Western and Japanese ingredients and has effectively created a signature style that positions him as one of today’s foremost chefs. In 2001, Morimoto opened his first eponymous restaurant in Philadelphia, which was followed by Wasabi by Morimoto in Mumbai in 2004 and another in New Delhi in 2008.

Today, Chef Morimoto has expanded his culinary empire across the globe, with restaurants in Boca Raton, Chicago, Maui, Mexico City, Napa, New York City, South Beach, and Waikiki. Morimoto’s restaurants have received numerous accolades throughout the years, including Morimoto Napa which was named one of Food & Wine Magazine’s “Best U.S. Restaurant Openings” in 2010, and Morimoto New York which won the James Beard Award for “Outstanding Restaurant Design” in 2008, as well as a “2006 Hot List Restaurant” by Conde Nast Traveler, one of New York’s “Top 50 Restaurants” by Travel + Leisure, and one of New York Magazine’s “Best New Restaurants.”