WL Design 25 Winners 2025: Shadow Play

Photos by Ema Peter

Out on Fraser Street in Vancouver, the sign for Ama Raw Bar isn’t necessarily easy to find. Instead of seeing the usual loud branded awning or boldly painted name on the door, you’ll have to come a little closer to discover the sushi restaurant’s name: a shadow of the letters, cleverly projected onto the wall through a  trick of lighting and stencil work. But the quiet signage is a hint as to what you’ll find inside: something intimate, mysterious and a bit daring.

Up the stairs you’ll enter a dark (and downright sexy) space—a far cry from the typical salmon-roll spots of the neighbourhood. Emma Sims and Darcy Hanna of &Daughters have created what they call “a transportive experience” with their work on the restaurant, eliminating the existing windows and installing a lighting cove that wraps the perimeter, treated with textured, warm plaster. Golden mirrors line the wall to reflect the soft, seductive glow into infinity, while at the centre of the room, a monolithic U-shaped bar becomes a stage for chefs expertly preparing artfully plated omakase platters.

Project: Ama Raw Bar
Designer: &Daughters
Collaborators: Amini Construction (contractor); Glasfurd and Walker (signage and branding); JNR (millwork); Toolbox Contract (furniture supplier); Andreu World (chairs and bar stools); Polished Stucco (plaster)
Location: Vancouver

Meet all of the 2025 WL Design 25 winners here.