Restaurant, Sichang Park

The restaurant is located in a linear park along a preserved natural river in a newly developed suburban area of Kunshan, a booming industrial city west of Shanghai. A school and a future apartment project flank the east and west sides of the park.

The river-front building has distinctively different west (facing the river) and east facades. A mostly solid wall on the east indicates that the building opens up toward its river side, where transparent surfaces dominate.

The landscape architect adopted an urban agriculture theme for the park. Strips of vegetable beds were laid out in the areas along the east side of building site. The architectural design made the strips appear to “penetrate” into the building. Once inside, the strips become linear green courtyards, dividing the first-floor dining area into semi-private spaces. The climbing plants in the linear courtyards create the effect of latticed screens that provide certain privacy but do not completely separate the semi-private spaces from each other, avoiding a problem common to current restaurant designs in China. 

A two-story-high foyer welcomes dinners to the second floor. On both floors, there are outdoor terraces or roof decks next to the indoor dining spaces. People can easily choose their favorable dining spots between indoor and outdoor settings. The adjacent climbing planters provide not only the visual pleasure of nature but also the sun shading needed in the summer. It is the architect’s attempt to borrow one of the fundamental concepts of traditional Chinese architecture that “pairs” each indoor space with one or more outdoor spaces to serve a building function. 

Publication
Architectural Review (UK, 9/2012)
Time+Architecture (China, 6/2012)