China Grill

The concept and design of this techno-Oriental restaurant inverts the American style of upmarket exclusivity. Rather than the traditional emphasis on an atmosphere of privacy and quiet, the restaurant was designed for high energy and voyeurism. Conceived as both a dining and entertainment destination, its emphasis is an atmosphere of theater: great food in a crowded atmosphere with abundant visual stimulation. Everything from the materials and forms to the technology and menu were designed with a sense of the provocative. Even the bathrooms were given a communal effect with walls that allow the sound of conversation to permeate. The geometry of the raw space allows the kitchen to be sited as a feature: The chefs can be viewed on wall mounted monitors throughout as well as through a window framed by walls that appear to project through the floor. Conveyor belts deliver food and drink at the bar. The interior scheme also playfully reinterprets traditional decorative Oriental themes: The ceiling was designed in the form of a folding fan and ethereally lit. Shoji screens were fabricated from translucent Plexiglas and illuminated; another screen, separating the kitchen and dining rooms, was composed of perforated stainless-steel panels. Concrete floors were inset with philosophical quotations in oxidized concrete, and illuminated columns were wrapped in a milky Plexiglas.