Yuntu Banquet Restaurant by Shang Cai

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DI: What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design?

SC : Inspired by ancient jade in China. The client asked to express the Chinese tradition implicitly, a gentleman is like jade, a beauty is like jade, so I want to use the element jade to express the entire space.

DI: What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?

SC : The main focus of the design is how to express the texture of jade. This is a material perception between liquidity and solidity. We still insist on expressing solidity with solids instead of two-dimensional pictures.

DI: What are your future plans for this award winning design?

SC : Chinese traditional culture is very interesting. We have been trying to express this culture in new ways. This is the case with this project, and it will be the same in the future.

DI: How long did it take you to design this particular concept?

SC : About 1 month.

DI: Why did you design this particular concept? Was this design commissioned or did you decide to pursuit an inspiration?

SC : This is one of the two projects commissioned by the client. The other one is based on the culture of Tang Dynasty in China, and this one is based on the culture of Song Dynasty in China.

DI: Is your design being produced or used by another company, or do you plan to sell or lease the production rights or do you intent to produce your work yourself?

SC : I have independent intellectual property rights.

DI: What made you design this particular type of work?

SC : Cross-border combination of stage art and soft art.

DI: Where there any other designs and/or designers that helped the influence the design of your work?

SC : Tadao Ando and Gaudi.

DI: Who is the target customer for his design?

SC : Customers with good aesthetics and high budget.

DI: What sets this design apart from other similar or resembling concepts?

SC : I focus on alternative expressions about Chinese culture,no longer the traditional high-saturated color and figurative elements.It maks the whole space more abstract.

DI: How did you come up with the name for this design? What does it mean?

SC : The name means the pictures of cloud, like the freezing of a cloud flowing in the air. It is the redefinition of jade in my heart.

DI: Which design tools did you use when you were working on this project?

SC : Sketch Master.

DI: What is the most unique aspect of your design?

SC : The translucent material of the entire space is the most special part of this project.There is dynamic light and shadow flowing, which makes the scene ranslucent and opaque, just like the color and texture of jade in different light. We call it congee in Chinese.

DI: Who did you collaborate with for this design? Did you work with people with technical / specialized skills?

SC : I designed independently.

DI: What is the role of technology in this particular design?

SC : DMX CNC light strip is the core of technology, it realized the change of liquid-like texture of solid materials.

DI: What are some of the challenges you faced during the design/realization of your concept?

SC : The time is very tight, we completed all the design work in one month.

DI: How did you decide to submit your design to an international design competition?

SC : By a friend's recommendation.

DI: What did you learn or how did you improve yourself during the designing of this work?

SC : The proper use of diffrent materials is my greatest achievement.