Reinventing Japan

Designing an upmarket Japanese restaurant, doesn't necessarily call for a rush on the local shoji screen store. In the absence of more obvious cultural references, sophisticated design approaches can create the sense of Japanese dining in much more surprising and evocative ways.

The new Japanese restaurant Sho-U, by architect Colin Seah from Ministry of Design (MOD), draws inspiration from the vivid demarcation of rooms according to colour in arthouse director Peter Greenaway's movie The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover.

"The design of Sho-U celebrates surprising, unconventional aesthetics that create an individual dining experience for patrons," says Seah. "We have eschewed typical symbols of Japanese dining, such as the ubiquitous shoji screen, an accent on natural materials, or obvious Japanese ornamentation of any kind."

Set in a mall environment lined with regular shop fronts, the angled gate, an abstraction of a bamboo framework, provides an intriguing entrance.

From here, patrons enter an all-red entry vestibule, which unfolds into an all-black series of dining nooks. These nooks border a full-height white dining hall where the spatial experience culminates in a flood of natural light and views to the river beyond.

"Walking right through the restaurant is a journey, with the walls narrowing and rising through the red area, and then opening expansively out into the white dining area," says Seah. "Patrons choose the area of the restaurant that appeals to their mood each area has its own distinctive atmosphere but can see through to the other areas while dining.

Two private dining rooms complementing the main dining hall complete the Sho-U experience. One features an arched ceiling and an art installation in collaboration with renowned Singaporean artist Lee Meiling. Her fabric art installations of abstracted Japanese flowers also float along all the main walls and ceilings, accentuating the red, black and white spaces.

"In material terms, the high-gloss sheen of polished stone and epoxy finish complement the warmth of the carpet and velvet wall facades," says the architect. "MOD also created a holistic vision for the entire eatery by co-ordinating the design of the menu, signage and uniforms. For example, Sho-U waiters are dressed head to foot in the colour of the area they wait on."

Story by: Charles Moxham