A new 'eco chic' restaurant proves that sustainability can be stylish

Serving modern Mediterranean cuisine in casually sophisticated 'eco chic' surroundings, Zelo reflects the innovative and creative approach to restaurant design for which Hong Kong's Gaia Group is known.

Zelo comprises three distinct areas: the open front entrance, featuring a large cocktail and tapas bar with high table seating; a lounge with an eclectic mix of super sharp and shabby chic seating; and, to the rear of the bar, two slightly more traditional, although not formal, dining rooms.

The restaurant's interior is marked with a bold palette of textures and colours, swathes of brightly-patterned patchwork against a backdrop of reclaimed and recycled natural materials.

This is one of the delicious ironies of Zelo's design: that, in the heart of Pacific Place, a shrine to high-end luxury consumerism, it dares to reuse and repurpose. "The words 'eco', 'sustainability', 'green' and 'the environment' immediately conjure up the concerned, the wellmeaning, the eater of brown rice and, generally, people who are unhappy with the world," says designer Hugh Zimmern of Faux Hong Kong.

"It's as if, in our quest to turn things around, we are all so puritanical and holier-than-thou that we somehow can't save the planet and have fun doing it; we become eco worriers, not eco warriors. We thought we should spin things around; take this topic and make it glamorous and fabulous."

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