“Food is not only for the sake of tasting good, but also for the pursuit of quality life.” In the dining philosophy of “Exquisite Bocuse”, the restaurant does not only exist for the sake of making people eat, it represents a sincerity, an art, a philosophy of life that integrates sensory experience and emotional expression. In 2021, Exquisite Bocuse, one of China’s high-end restaurant brands, will be located in Beijing, with the team’s philosophy of harmonizing culinary art and design, so that diners in Beijing can also enjoy the luxury of Cantonese cuisine and food aesthetics.
In the heart of Beijing’s CBD financial district, the office space surrounded by tall glass curtain walls is orderly and quiet, highlighting the urgency and pressure of people working at a fast pace. The restaurant is located here, hoping to convey the unique philosophy of life with the touching flavor of food and the subtlety of space. Thus, the lighting design starts from the potential emotional state and spiritual needs of the diners, and uses the implicit thinking of light to create a “habitat” in the middle of the city: a cup of tea, a full stomach, and the pleasure of quality life.
The interior design incorporates many natural elements: pebbles, large natural stones, hollow brick walls, rough brick-red façade, and light fixtures in the form of water drops, revealing the natural atmosphere one by one. The lighting design starts with “transformation”. Due to the fact that the entrance of the restaurant is located in the elevator hall of the office building, the designer turns off the two sets of lights near the entrance of the elevator hall, forming a low-light space to achieve a natural transition between different functional areas, and at the same time, effectively avoiding the interference of redundant light with the interior space.
The overall brightness of the vestibule space is adjusted to a low level, and the designer hopes to soothe the tense emotions of diners with restrained, hidden light: when entering from the outside, the suddenly low brightness “forces” people to pace in at a slower pace and achieve emotional calmness in the midst of slowing down. The brick façade enclosing the boundaries of the space is illuminated with light from the top down, creating a beautiful intention of natural light penetrating into the interior. Between the dark and light, the space becomes “natural”, reducing the sense of confinement while allowing the eye to rest in more places. The narrow angle of light illuminates the natural stones carefully arranged in the space, creating a strong shadow that falls on the paving stones, making each stone full of stories under the light.
The clever design of the partition wall in the vestibule gives the space rich layers of reality and fiction. A model of an ancient building that complements the restaurant is placed near the entrance, and under the mapping of light, it becomes the absolute focus of the vestibule with its delicate light and shadow effects.
The dark red-dominated passage has a strong atmosphere, forming a sharp contrast with the front hall. The red terra cotta façade is coarse in texture, but the proper light makes it more rustic and natural; the red grille façade is complex and varied, and is more delicate and refined under the backdrop of internal light. Between one coarse and one fine, “nature” appears.
The scale of the lounge area is extravagant in any restaurant. The dark-colored stone, which is not emphasized by key lighting, is calm and heavy, like a mountain peak, continuing the theme of nature; the glass shape dangling above the stone is as crystal clear as a water drop under the light. With the exquisite details in the space, the sound of curling into the ear, there is a kind of feeling of hidden in the city. This is the ultimate expression of the nature theme.
From the lounge area, there is access to each private room. The channel is gray in color, and a line of light cascades down from the top side, just like natural light, echoing the front room.
The private rooms are well-lit and richly layered. The lighting no longer emphasizes the presentation of natural themes, but focuses on expressing it as a “living room at home”. The lighting is focused on the dining area, the lounge area, the open operation area and a host of other functional areas, while also using decorative lighting and artistic furnishings to enhance the atmosphere.
The exquisite details, excellent quality, and proper light speak the highest meaning of Jing Caixuan’s modern high-end Chinese culture. The designer uses “hidden light” as a medium to connect commercial value demands and spiritual and emotional needs, and with the performance of explicit space lighting effects, to delicately convey to people the sincerity of taste buds and the philosophy of the art of slow food life.
