Ito Japanese Caupona by Monique Lee is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2023 Praemium A' Design Award Aeneum in Designatio Interior Competition Category.

AesInterior· 2023

Ito Japanese Caupona

by Monique Lee

Client: Parkview Green

Praemium A' Design Award Aeneum Winner in Interior Category

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Verified Award Winner
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The Design

About Ito Japanese Caupona

Ito & # XXXIX s shopfront incipit cum Karesansui landscape ostendens audaciam aquarum currentium imagines et arbores bamboo. In introitu est regio receptio materiis metallicis et naturalibus destinata. Perambulans interior, Shiheyan layout est. Spatium atrii est in centro cum cubiculis privatis in tono terreno ad meridiem, orientem, septentrionem et occidentem in angulis. Duae coquinae apertae Robatayak et Teppanyaki cuisinae in parte posteriori reservatae sunt. Similes sunt spatium apertum sub culmine traditionum domorum Iaponum ubi familiae et amici colligunt et chat per otium temporis.

The Recognition

About the Praemium A' Design Award Aeneum

Ito Japanese Caupona victor est Praemii A' Design Award Aeneum, honoris multum aestimati formis egregiis, creandi ingenio, sollertia et acumine insignibus dati. Victores Aenei opera perita et mire creandi sunt, quae experientiam, imaginationem et solertiam auctorum suorum confirmant. Exspectatur Ito Japanese Caupona rem multum aestimatam, admiratam et carissimam, notabiliter professionalem et novam fore. Haec forma Aeneo victa optimas consuetudines artis, scientiae, formandi rationis et technologiae amplectitur et in cura minutiarum excellit. Ito Japanese Caupona necessitates egregie explet, cupiditates tangit, sensus capit et curiositatem allicit.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: Design combines Chinese and Japanese garden philosophies. It blends Chinese patterns and Japanese Karesansui landscape. To present traditional concepts in a modern way, decorations combine natural and metallic materials. Interior consists of three sections – The Atrium, Mystery of Nature and the Periphery. The atrium is a courtyard surrounded by several compartments for sensing four seasons. The rear part is a Japanese periphery space for signature Robatayaki and Teppanyaki cuisines.
Dimensions & Packaging: Floor area: 375 square meters.
Tags: Chinese and Japanese garden, Karesansui, Shiheyan, Robatayak, Teppanyaki. Asia Restaurant.
Production Technology: Design emphasizes a balanced form that combines Karesansui landscape techniques with Chinese Siheyuan layout. It also incorporates the idea of artful ceiling designs in ancient architecture, yet reinvent it in modern 3D style. Instead of Japanese washi paper, metals and glasses are used to make screens. Steel, embossed glass, marble stones become key construction materials. Meanwhile, Engineer Wood Flooring technique reduces the use of original hardwood.
Design Challenge: Several independent dining sections are needed within limited interior space. To keep a spacious feeling, corridors and glass screens, instead of solid walls, perform the partitioning function. The pressing feeling resulting from a low roof is overcome by a feature ceiling built with reflective rippled mirror-polished steel which is also a focal point. Metal bars of the feature wall at the shopfront had to be linked and set at specific angles manually which was a process requiring much skill and labor.
Research: Information is mainly provided by clients. Meanwhile, we also make use of our experience got from previous design projects executed in Mainland China.
Inspiration: Considering the brand’s feature of serving original Japanese cuisine in Beijing’s Parkview Green renowned as a hub of innovative thinking, design focuses on going beyond traditional Japanese design norms. It presents a distinct Japanese Karesansui - dry landscape. Various shapes are deployed to present a dynamic nature. Chinese garden elements are assimilated to create a different aesthetic appeal. Artful ceilings and metal bamboo screens, instead of washi paper, are products of this concept.
Project Duration: The project started in Dec. 2020 in Beijing, China, and finished in Nov 2021. The Restaurant’s location is at Parkview Green FangCaoDi, Chaoyang Dist., Beijing, China.
Operation Flow: To facilitate restaurant’s operation to serve various gathering purposes, interior space is divided into sections with different vibes. Instead of solid partitions, corridors are paved to run through the whole venue to form dining sections. Translucent glass screens are installed to keep privacy of each section while maintaining visual comfort. For quick access, private rooms are located next to the entrance, so visitors could enter the rooms directly without crossing other dining sections.
Team Members: Designer: Monique Lee
Image Credits: All images: Parkview Green, ITO Restaurant, 2021