Simple, rustic, Shanghainese eatery

Unicorn Restaurant was a remodel and a 2-story back-of-house addition situated at a busy local neighborhood in downtown Shanghai. Our brief required us to introduce more light into the space and provide a rustic feel. We responded by opening up the facade with full height windows, reorganizing the circulation, and using natural wood to anchor the material palate. Other materials were selected to suggest different “scale” textures inspired by the restaurant’s namesake “Kirin” unicorn — they include corrugated steel panels on the focal wall, hex-shaped tiles on the floor, textured stucco on the general walls, and scallop-patterned vinyl wallpaper in the VIP room.

Project area: 185sqm.  Completed 2015.