Hangzhou is a historic Chinese city and home to world-class corporations like Alibaba and DeepSeek. Located near "West Lake" in the heart of the city, "Meihuatang" is a registered modern cultural heritage site of Hangzhou. With the approval of the Chinese government and investment from a local company, the site has been introducing famous international Michelin-starred restaurants through a phased approach.
Among them, "7th Door," which became the third restaurant to move in, is a dining establishment that offers a modern reinterpretation of fermentation and aging—the core of Korean culinary culture. It has been selected as a Michelin-starred restaurant for six consecutive years, from 2021 to 2026.
Since a portion of the building is a registered cultural heritage site of Hangzhou, the starting point of the design was the question: "What is the aesthetic intersection shared by Korea and China?" The conclusion drawn from this reflection was 'Dancheong' (Korean traditional decorative coloring on wooden buildings).
'Dancheong' embodies a universal Asian aesthetic while simultaneously capturing a uniquely Korean beauty. In particular, the purple and blue Dancheong on the ceiling of the second floor of 'Gyeonghoeru' Pavilion of Gyeongbokgung Palace had left a lasting impression for a long time, and this served as the foundation for the entire design plan.
