The restaurant is located in a linear park along a preserved natural river in a newly developed suburban area of Kunshan, a booming industrial city west of Shanghai. A school and a future apartment project flank the east and west sides of the park.

The river-front building has distinctively different west (facing the river) and east facades. A mostly solid wall on the east indicates that the building opens up toward its river side, where transparent surfaces dominate.

The landscape architect adopted an urban agriculture theme for the park. Strips of vegetable beds were laid out in the areas along the east side of building site. The architectural design made the strips appear to “penetrate” into the building. Once inside, the strips become linear green courtyards, dividing the first-floor dining area into semi-private spaces. The climbing plants in the linear courtyards create the effect of latticed screens that provide certain privacy but do not completely separate the semi-private spaces from each other, avoiding a problem common to current restaurant designs in China.

A two-story-high foyer welcomes dinners to the second floor. On both floors, there are outdoor terraces or roof decks next to the indoor dining spaces. People can easily choose their favorable dining spots between indoor and outdoor settings. The adjacent climbing planters provide not only the visual pleasure of nature but also the sun shading needed in the summer. It is the architect’s attempt to borrow one of the fundamental concepts of traditional Chinese architecture that “pairs” each indoor space with one or more outdoor spaces to serve a building function.

Project Data

Location Sichang Road at West Qianjin Road, Kunshan, Jiangsu Province, China

Project Period 2009-2012

Floor Area 569 square meters

Client Kunshan City Construction, Investment and Development Co., Ltd.

Designer

Architecture: Miao Design Studio (Design Architect), Pu Miao; Hanjia Design Group, Shanghai (Architect of Record), Jiang Ninqing

Structure: Shanghai Yuangui Structural Design Inc., Zhang Yewei, Liang Dong

Engineering: Hanjia Design Group, Shanghai, Guo Zhong, Yu Yang, Wu Qiuyan

Photographer Pu Miao

Publication

Architectural Review (UK, 9/2012)

Time+Architecture (China, 6/2012)

昆山是上海西面一个蓬勃发展中的工业城市。本建筑位于该城新开发的郊区中，坐落在一个在保留下来的自然河道两侧形成的线型公园内。一个学校及一个待建设的公寓工程夹峙公园的东西两面。

建筑临河，其东西两面处理截然不同。东面为一道实墙，面水的西面主要为透明玻璃。强调了建筑向水面开放的姿态。

公园的景观设计师为公园设计了一个城市农业的主题。在建筑基地东面的区域中布满了条型菜圃。建筑设计让这些菜圃好象“穿入”建筑，在室内变成条型绿色庭院，并将一层的就餐区域分隔成多个半私密空间。条型庭院中的攀援植物就像疏离的屏风，产生一定的私密感但不会让半私密的空间彼此完全孤立，避免了一个目前中国餐厅设计中常见的问题。

就餐者同时可以通过一个两层高的门厅进入二层。一、二层的就餐空间均与室外平台或屋顶平台相邻。人们可以随意在室内或室外环境中选择自己喜爱的地方进餐。邻近的爬藤花架不仅增添了自然景观，同时也提供了夏天必须的遮阳。中国传统建筑的基本概念之一是将每一个室内空间与一或多个室外空间“配对”来服务于一个建筑功能，这是本设计所试图继承的。

工程资料

地点 江苏省昆山市思常路(前进西路口)

时间 2009-2012

建筑面积 569平方米

业主 江苏省昆山城市建设投资发展有限公司

设计

建筑：缪朴设计工作室 缪朴; 汉嘉设计集团 蒋宁清

结构：上海源规建筑结构设计事务所 张业巍，梁栋

设备：汉嘉设计集团 郭忠，于洋，吴秋燕

摄影 缪朴

发表

《建筑评论》（英国，9/2012）

《时代建筑》（6/2012）