Text description provided by the architects. YuanGu Yanjing is located on the second and the third floor of Chengdu Yuanyang Taikooli. However, we had a quite special structure of this restaurant. The store entrance is on the second floor, while the main commercial area is on the third floor. The two sections are connected by a long stair, which brings us many troubles to the operation team. As a result, the design of the entrance is particularly important. In order to highlight the characteristics of Yuangu, we choose the old stone and old wood to improve the quality of the façade. The stair is mysterious, long, and narrow.
When you enter here, you seem to come into a meditation court with a ray of light at the end of the distance. When you enter the third floor, the light is instantly bright and you will see an exquisite courtyard. Although the yard is small, it is the core of the restaurant, with the sky and the ground as the background, with bamboo and stones as embellishments. YuanGu, which is famous for its humanities, is closer to nature. In this small yard, you could feel the wind, rain, changes of four seasons, and the twenty-four solar terms.
The business area is divided into three parts, the first part is the kitchen, private rooms, and toilets, the second part is the bar, yard, and long-seat area, the third part is the lobby, which has an ambiguous relationship with the central yard. The kitchen is in the corner since the original equipment rooms are arranged in advance and we have no choice to change. We put the two toilets and private rooms beside the kitchen because of the budget.
The enclosed space can avoid the disturbance of dining out and returning as much as possible. Next, the bar house, the yard, and the long-seat area are the landscape of each other. Last, it is the lobby, which is relatively independent and quiet. The quiet water makes people more comfortable. You could look into the courtyard through the yuangu shop and also peep into the bar through the brick wall.
After the restaurant opened, someone asked me about the design inspiration. I think this is a serious problem. I have mentioned many times that form is only the result of design, not the goal we pursue. Anyway, we need more rational thinking, such as the flow line, energy-saving, how to improve space utilization, and so on.
When you keep the balance of these problems, the design is finished. If you ask me why the YuanGu is like this, I think it is closely related to the YuanGu spirit- simple, natural, and warm. When you bring these three keywords to our design, everything comes clear.