Omakase by Shanghai Hip-Pop Design: 2019 Best of Year Winner for Fine Dining
Enter a room by Shanghai Hip-Pop Design Team‘s chief designer Sun Tianwen and you fall into an alternate universe. Each of his mesmerizing interiors creates a discrete, futuristic world straight out of Blade Runner. A student of design psychology, Sun plays with space, light, and color to trick the eye and influence emotions. At elegant Japanese kaiseki-ryori restaurant Omakase, he evokes a sense of tranquility and refinement by showering guests in what he calls “sakura rain.”
From Shanghai’s busy Xuhui district, visitors step into a radiant pink maze. Cherry blossom petals and dewdrops are etched into layered, low-iron glass partitions lit by LEDs, and illuminated textured glass flooring glows beneath a black ceiling. A central volume holding the stairwell and private dining room is painted gold, setting it apart from the rest of the 1,500-square-foot restaurant.
While the ambiance might seem too engaging, Sun says the dim lighting actually helps people focus on the food, lowers their voices, and relaxes them, enhancing their dining experience. “We utilized lighting to create a romantic and new environment,” he notes. Furthermore, dishes aren’t bubblegum pink: a low color temperature and high color rendering value protect their natural hue.
Project Team: Cao Xindi; Liu Dong; Zhang Dejie.
> See more from the December/January 2020 issue of Interior Design
