Time Travel Dining: Gyukaku Festival Walk

Vincent Chi-wai Chiang's Surrealist Take on Japanese Restaurant Design

Japanese restaurants are a popular choice in Hong Kong, and standing out among them requires a unique and innovative design. Vincent Chi-wai Chiang, the designer behind Gyukaku Festival Walk, has successfully achieved this by blending valuable Japanese culture with a futuristic vision. The result is a dining experience akin to time travel, where diners are transported to a surreal world that transcends their imagination.

The restaurant's unique properties lie in its innovative design that fully embraces Surrealism. The extensive use of wood, especially in the organically sculptural forms of the tables, chairs, and ceiling elements, contrasts with the linear wall cladding, giving the interior a distinctive character. The polygonal patterns of the ceiling elements abstractly represent the restaurant's specialty, creating a striking visual impact.

The design was realized using modern presentation techniques, retaining traditional elements of a Japanese restaurant while introducing an illusion of time. This approach matches the concept "Found in Time" and escalates the interior design to a level beyond imagination. The waving rooftop, made of aluminum, creates a futuristic cityscape that vibrates diners' hearts and piques their curiosity.

The restaurant, with an area of 3750 sq ft, is located in Hong Kong. The design process involved studying the industrial century of Japanese culture, understanding the importance of their machine industries to their society, and applying the findings to create a modern machinery space. Despite the challenge of a short headroom, the striking ceiling elements endow the interior with a distinctive identity.

The design of Gyukaku Festival Walk has been recognized with a Golden A' Interior Space, Retail and Exhibition Design Award in 2018. This prestigious 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.

The copyrights for this innovative design belong to In Cube Design Limited, 2017. The design team, led by Vincent Chi-wai Chiang and including Mr. Keith Lau, has successfully created a dining experience that is not only visually impressive but also culturally enriching, offering a unique blend of traditional and modern elements that is truly "Found in Time".