‘Spring Feast’ Restaurant in Chaohu by Ippolito Fleitz Group.

German-based multidisciplinary studio Ippolito Fleitz Group (IFG) has designed a restaurant in Chaohu, China that translates the naturally surrounding waterscape into a dynamic spatial experience.

Embedded in its breathtaking surroundings, the interior takes cues from the city’s Bantang hot springs, a popular destination for tourists and wellness holiday makers. The water of the famous local springs is used in the preparation of the restaurant’s dishes and served as drinking water, with IFG seeking to further extend the same concept to the interior.

The design strategy was to tap into the cultural context and translate it into a spatial experience. Fluid forms derived from the flow of water characterise the spacious, light-filled space.

The organically curved form of the architecture acts as a natural continuation of the terrain. “We transport the organically curved form of the architecture, which from the outside makes the building look like a natural continuation of the landscape, into the interior,” elaborates IFG. “Here and there we create cavernous niches that are reminiscent of the inside of a mountain and the source of the spring water.”

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Entering the restaurant from the upper level, the direct path takes diners down a wide staircase and the gallery passage leads past a lounge that offers a magnificent view of the scenery.

A bi-colour texture of earth tones meanders through the space, zoning it elegantly and dynamically into walkways and seating areas. The restaurant is dominated by a vibrant, verdant green that stretches across the restaurant landscape like a lush jungle canopy.

Through motifs and materiality, the restaurant becomes an organic experiential space in which the slowed-down wellness concept of hot spring bathing flows into the enjoyment of food.

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[Images courtesy of Ippolito Fleitz Group. Photography by OCT Group.]