Urban Alice: A Wonderland for the Modern Youth

Design Tomorrow, Inc. Revitalizes Urban Lifestyle with a Unique Restaurant and Bar Concept

The inspiration behind Urban Alice was the desire to provide a mystical and fun experience for young adults, much like the adventures of 'Alice in Wonderland'. The project is located in the area of Ewha Womans University in Seoul, a hub for trendsetters in the 90s that later declined due to a decreased number of visitors. The objective of the project was to revive the abandoned shopping center and create a space that would generate the cultural values needed to revitalize the area.

The unique properties of Urban Alice lie in its design and purpose. It is not just a commercial space but an open platform where visitors can create and share various cultural activities and content, fostering interaction and community. The three-story building is designed with different themes - an art gallery, a secret garden, and a library. The first floor serves as an open gallery and café where anyone can exhibit their artwork. The third floor is a space for learning, where knowledge and cultures are shared.

Urban Alice was realized using a variety of materials including Terrazzo, Polished Tile, Woven flooring for the floor, and Painting, Brick, Tile, ST.S, Mirror, Colored Glass, Wood Panel, Sound panel for the walls. The ceiling was designed using Painting, Sound-Panel, Screen louver, Barisol. The total area of the project is 3.795,8 m2.

Design Tomorrow, Inc. faced several challenges during the realization of Urban Alice. The main challenge was to create an open space where the supplier provides a space with food and beverage services and visitors create various cultural activities and contents to share with others, creating interaction. Despite these challenges, the project was successfully completed between August 2017 and March 2018.

Urban Alice was awarded the Golden A' Interior Space, Retail and Exhibition Design Award in 2019. 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.