Reviving the Parisian Elegance: Cafe FLO Taikooli

David Chang Design Associates Int'l Transforms a Hot Pot Cafe into a French Classic

The Cafe FLO Taikooli is part of the Brasserie Flo group, a 116-year-old restaurant group based in Paris with over 300 restaurants worldwide. The design team faced the challenge of creating an inviting dining experience while respecting the building's existing imposing beams and columns. The solution was to wrap the beams with wood panels and paint, and some were transformed into arch beams to soften the visual senses. The pendant light fixtures were placed in an unconventional way to give a sense of spontaneity.

The color tones of the cafe were inspired by the elegance of the bygone Napoleonic era Parisian blue and Brass gold. The overall design was based on the iconic French Art Deco style brasserie. The chandelier, with its honeycomb structure, can be traced back as a symbolic icon to the Art Deco period. The design team also used different shades of blue in the space to establish a sense of spontaneous and relaxing dining experience for young diners.

The space is based on utilizing simple straight European mouldings with a little touch on the curvilinear elements. Art Deco decorative elements are used throughout the space such as the multi-layering pilaster, wall panels and honeycomb shape pendant light fixtures. Open pore paint on walnut is applied onto the front bar. The use of mirror with bevel-edge on wall is to expand the horizontal space visually to balance the existing double ceiling height and narrow space.

The arrangement of seating was carefully planned to maximize the number of seating to 75 seats indoor and 30 seats out door with flexible arrangement to suit any guest's request. The food delivered out and the dirty dishes collected in use different traffic flow to maximize the work efficiency while avoiding the interference of each other. The widows are kept without any obstruction to give the diners to emotionally feel the seamless merge between the indoor and outdoor environment.

This design project started in January of 2016 and ended in July of 2016. It was awarded Golden in A' Hospitality, Recreation, Travel and Tourism Design Award in 2017. The Golden A' Design Award is granted to marvelous, outstanding, and trendsetting creations that reflect the designer's prodigy and wisdom. They are venerated products and bright ideas that advance art, science, design, and technology, embodying extraordinary excellence and significantly impacting the world with their desirable characteristics.