When designing the café in the French Hall, the beautiful Stucco marble walls and plaster casts, which were a gift from the French State in 1924 were uncovered and restored.

To avoid any major alterations to the hall, the kitchen was placed in an adjacent room and a central freestanding "temple" was constructed of multiple glass layers, both transparent and translucent with integrated shelves for display and inbuilt LED coloured lighting. The “temple” also incorporates the hall’s ventilation system.

The Café in the National Gallery received honourable mention in The Norwegian Lighting Award, 2003.