Sweetie Salad restaurant in Beijing is highlighting the connection of food and nature. The concept is based on the idea of a pic-nic trip, where all typical elements of a day in the nature have been revisited, recombined and re-proposed into new roles.
Wall surfaces made of real clay bricks have been mounted and colored like an enlarged gingham patterned cover and define the background of main dining areas, where customers can sit around over-sized community tables in solid wood or on custom-made gingham patterned sofa chairs.
A vertical green meadow in the entrance separates market counter and dining room. A speck of blue sky has been trapped and printed on lenticular disc on which white clouds move according to different position of viewers.
Colored bricks define also the front of the main counter, which is standing out a grey concrete finished wall, where gigantic insects are climbing all around. The insects have been painted by designers and pasted on wall like super colorful pieces of poster art, adding an urban accent to the whole setting.
Lighting system is inspired by nature too, specifically designed and tailor made for the project. A first group of lighting fixtures resemble polished and bent wooden branches pending from ceiling, suggesting the feeling to eat under a tree. A second group of lamps made of large “grapes” is hanging on metal and wooden pergolas resembling an installation of grape arbors in an orchard or a group of fireflies filling the air. All lights are can change creating different atmospheres.
Square wooden sticks are framing large translucent polycarbonate panels that cover all external walls, filtering natural light and giving customers the feeling to be into a bright naturally illuminated green house.
Additional elements like daisy flowers embroidered on seat cushions and graphic elements create a playful game of little details widespread around the space that customers can discover. All become the ingredients that create an atmosphere of relax and fun to temporarily escape the ordinary. Menu has been printed on a flag system with arrows that indicate main food directions like a cross-road signage in the countryside.
In addition to the 160 sqm indoor space, a 110 sqm patio space outside will define the entrance space to the restaurant and the main external facade. The patio has been designed as a mix of public square and garden. The external setting features a patterned and colored gingham brick paving, a grass meadow, a long arched concrete bench to border the area and a shadow system made by triangular shapes of colored roll-up curtains that remind the one of a kite floating in the sky.
