The project reimagined a two-story restaurant space situated along a street, with interconnected upper and lower levels. The designer was entrusted by a sculptor friend to create a unique restaurant. Sharing a common vision, they quickly agreed on a concept: to craft a gallery-style dining environment where art and life intertwine seamlessly.
The existing space was low-ceilinged and confined. To reclaim the original spatial integrity with a higher net height, the designers opted for a challenging but essential approach: removing the accumulated layers of flooring and stripping away the excessive veneers from the walls. Unnecessary pipes and stained paint layers were also removed from the top floor's ceiling. This process unveiled the space in its original state, exposing its structural clarity and the authenticity of the materials. Embracing a minimalist and origin-focused design philosophy, the designers eliminated the decorative elements and redirected attention toward the external urban environment. With an anti-decorative approach, the team created a clean and cohesive exterior by incorporating the dining tables' support structure as an external feature. Inside, the space was shaped with inspiration from "Mono-ha" contemporary art, featuring curved walls that naturally formed concave and convex spaces, fostering a sensitive and immersive atmosphere.
The restaurant adheres to traditional Chinese culinary craftsmanship, incorporating a significant amount of traditional Chinese mortise-and-tenon elements. It was evident in the construction of tables and walls, where tabletops seamlessly connected to the walls using mortise joints, and the tabletops and legs were joined with the same technique. The result is a space where the essence of Eastern construction is subtly yet powerfully expressed through every detail.