Silver Interior Space and Exhibition Design · 2023
Tarentum Restaurant with Bar
by Bin Liu
- A' Design Award 2023 Silver Winner in Interior Space and Exhibition Design
- Awarded April 15, 2023
- CLIENT: Rbd Design Box
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 12,768
- Verification code 2D67F74C00 · Verify this award
About Tarentum Restaurant with Bar
Tarentum is a Greek-themed restaurant and bar interior in Wuhan, China. The design covers 386 square meters of indoor and outdoor space, including a customer area of 276 square meters, a bar of 20 square meters and a kitchen of 40 square meters. The indoor area holds 36 tables and 104 seats, and the outdoor area holds 6 tables and 24 seats. The main theme is drawn from the karst caves of Mykonos. Artificial caves are formed on steel skeletons covered with fabric, foam and concrete, then sprayed with white cement. Micro-cement, tile and marble complete the space.
Tarentum Restaurant with Bar emerges from contemporary hospitality design traditions that seek to transport guests beyond quotidian dining experiences into immersive sensory environments, drawing upon Mediterranean vernacular architecture, particularly the organic forms found in ancient cave dwellings and natural limestone formations characteristic of coastal regions. The interior demonstrates remarkable technical achievement in the execution of its sculptural plaster elements, which flow with apparent effortlessness from ceiling planes into wall surfaces, creating continuous biomorphic formations that suggest geological processes frozen in time while maintaining a sense of warmth and invitation rather than overwhelming monumentality. Designer Bin Liu appears to have drawn inspiration from the organic architecture movement, echoing sensibilities associated with masters who sought harmony between built environment and natural form, while translating these principles into a hospitality context that prioritizes guest comfort and atmospheric intimacy. The chromatic restraint throughout the space demonstrates sophisticated understanding of how limited palettes can amplify textural richness and spatial drama, with the warm cream and ecru surfaces serving as responsive canvases for the carefully considered lighting design that transforms throughout the day and evening hours. The pendant fixtures, with their delicate amber glass forms, suggest artisanal craft traditions while providing functional illumination that enhances the cave-like atmosphere without compromising visibility for dining activities. Botanical elements including the prominently placed palm and subtle floral arrangements introduce organic life that complements rather than competes with the architectural gesture, suggesting oasis environments within protective enclosures. The work invites consideration of how contemporary hospitality design might create memorable experiences through environmental storytelling, transforming the act of dining into an immersive journey that engages multiple senses while providing the comfort and functionality essential to successful restaurant operation.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- Tarentum, a brand of Greek-themed restaurant chain from Shenzhen, recently opened its first store in Wuhan. The brand delivers the Mediterranean ocean style to the city streets of Wuhan, which brings a day-and-night lifestyle. The intention is to create the ultimate space of immersive cultural experience, which help customers enjoy an exotic style and taste the delicate and elegant Greek cultural style in a panoramic way, from the whole to the details and from the structure to the furnishings.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- The whole area for design is three hundred and eighty-six square meters, including indoor space and outdoor space. Indoor space is made up of the customer area of 276 square meters, the bar of 20 square meters and the kitchen of 40 square meters. The dining-tables are different in shape and size so that they can satisfy various needs. The amount of dining-tables in the interior space is 36, which could hold 104 customers. The number of dining-tables in the outside area is 6, which has 24 seats.
- Tags
- Karst Cave, Greek , Innovation, Romantic, Comfortable, Dream, Harmony
- Production Technology
- I Design materials: micro-cement / mattile / marble / Xintong lighting.
II Technology: cave production
1. Building foundation: steel skeleton with steel and wire
2. Fix flexible fabric, foam plastic and plate on the steel skeleton
3. Concrete over the foundation skeleton, so that it constitutes the three-dimensional artificial cave of natural image of karst cave.
4. Colouring: spray the white cement slurry on the surface of the artificial karst cave. - Design Challenge
- The Greek culture is colorful, but it is not easy to find and conceive the materials needed to create the artistic conception, and it is also difficult to conduct spatial interpretation. On the other hand, cultural differences may pose a certain challenge for designer to pursue that the Greek-themed catering space can be widely recognized and loved.
- Project Duration
- The project started in February 2022 in Wuhan and finished in May 2022 in Wuhan.
- Operation Flow
- Exploration-Space Analysis-Conception-Design Draft-Design Modification-plane graph-impression drawing- Feedback-Design Finalization-Construction Drawing-Construction-Soft decoration-Inspection-Completion
- Research
- Through the investigation and interview, information about Wuhan regional cultural characteristics, catering consumption habits and aesthetic preferences is collected by using Internet and other technology methods. On the basis of accurate regional people's consumption characteristics, the innovative space design realizes the fusion of brand and consumer culture ,improves the cognitive acceptance of brand and provides people with a leisure space to understand and experience exotic food.
- Inspiration
- Mykonos, an Island lying in the southeast of Athens, is unique among many Aegean islands with its special dreamy temperament. The innovation inspiration of the design is from the natural karst cave of Mikonos Island. As the theme element, the island cave could foil the unique Greek cultural and highlight the cultural gene of brand.
- Image Credits
- Photographer Ben FoTo, 2021