"Perhaps we can feel a real daily life atmosphere through digital technology."
— Li Wenqiang

Founded in Hangzhou, WASABIYA is known for attracting diners by creating exquisite Japanese cuisine and innovative scenes. Its sub-brand KYUUSANN, which serves Japanese barbecue and wine, opens a new premise in Chengdu, a creative city of gastronomy recognized by UNESCO, expecting to realize local exploration and innovation though insights into the catering market. Led by Li Wenqiang, PIG DESIGN decodes and retranslates the cultural context of this vibrant city, by conceiving a digital contemporary socializing space for the catering brand. The design creatively breaks the conventional image of Japanese restaurants, and introduces a worldly atmosphere as well as a sense of future and technology into modern daily life.

Shift Between Virtuality and Reality

The project is situated on the B1 of IFS (International Finance Center), a fashionable commercial landmark on Chunxi Road, Chengdu. It hides behind the escalator that links the metro station with the open-air plaza. An organic curved stainless steel structure with a length of 25 meters and LED electronic screens are added to glass facades of the entrance door. Both form a pair of huge "sunglasses" on the threshold of digital and physical, capturing the flowing material civilization of the city.

Being adjacent to the exit of metro station, the dining venue is given a contradictory public attribute. The curved structure is not only a three-dimensional sculpture with many a concavity and convexity, but also an internal support combined with the existing building. In response to the local special geographic factors, the curved design also meets fireproof and anti-seismic requirements of the public building.

Daily Life Atmosphere Rendered by Digital Technology

It is the discovery of fire use that separates human from animals and ushers in the course of human evolution. Complemented by metal and granite, LED becomes the protagonist of the space. Particles move according to the command of AI parameters, hence creating a world awash with digital smoke. While producing a sense of drama, these staggered fine matters also echo the face-changing of Sichuan opera, expressing respect for this kind of ancient Chinese romantic art which turns abstract emotions and feelings into specific visible symbols.

Under the control of algorithm-based program, pixel-like particles are capable of dividing objects' images into fragments and reorganizing them on the screen. Furthermore, based on the logic and scale of varying lighting, they generate a flowing volume with its own logic. Like murals of caves in ancient times, this volume, clearly, is not an experiment solely by human. PIG DESIGN adopts innovative techniques that combine artificial and human intelligence to depict a futuristic artistic picture.

For the sake of cost reduction and environmental protection, the designers chose small pieces of square LED screens and combined them to produce a curved volume, instead of a piece of large one. Though there are some subtle gaps, the multimedia artist smoke-patterned digital screen visually eliminates these defects, thus achieving a perfect balance among cost, function and aesthetics.

Crack of Time

Just as space has its geometry, time has its psychology, and geography has its history. Centered on the circular bar counter in the middle, left and right circulation routes are arranged in a symmetric yet differentiated manner. Getting off the beaten track, such arrangement enables the space to accommodate dining area, afternoon tea area and wine bar and to offer multiple catering services. Grilled processing allows traditional raw and cold Japanese cuisine to be transformed into cooked one featuring the smell of fire, which helpfully evokes diners' enthusiasm and removes their concerns about food hygiene in the post-pandemic era.

Metal structure, characterized by a strong industrial style, runs through the interior. Matte reflection, together with digital scenes on the curved surfaces and a subtle interplay of light and shadow, bring artistic commercial spatial experiences. Eggshell-shaped seats endow the fantastic space with a distinctive visual effect, whilst also making diners feel like being wrapped in a comfortable way. The triangular steel frame structure takes cues from flying wings. Cracked wall-like installations symbolize the vitality of life. Hand-stitching blue fabrics, which enfold seats and background wall, infuse the cyberpunk socializing context with a sense of reality. The dialogue between the present and the past provides a unique emotional experience, as well as an immersive spatial ambience.

Team:

Client: WASABIYA

Architecture, Interior & Furniture Design: PIG DESIGN

Chief designer: Li Wenqiang

Design team: Liu Chao, He Di

Construction firm: Hangzhou Zhima Decoration Design Engineering Co., Ltd.

Lighting design: Yaank

Photography: Qi Shuoqian

Visual design: Qian Chaofan