Architects: Lukstudio www.lukstudiodesign.com
Location: Changsha, Hunan, China
Design Team: Christina Luk, Alba Beroiz Blazquez,
Cai Jin Hong, Pao Yee Lim
Area: 50.0 sqm Project Year: 2015
Photographs: Peter Dixie for LOTAN Architectural Photography
Archetech - Page 40
The Noodle Rack /
Lukstudio
Noodle soup is a common street food all
over China. While most of these noodle
joints spend tremendous effort to win
customers with taste, some has started
to add attractive store design into their
branding recipe. A good example is
LongXiaoBao, a newcomer who sets foot
in Changsha with an ambition to spread
the local ShaoYang style rice noodle
to the rest of China. Commissioned to
conceive a contemporary identity for their
first restaurant, Lukstudio integrates t he
tradition of noodle making in the spatial
design by reinterpreting a noodle rack.
Nestled along an outdoor shopping
promenade nearby the Xiangjiang River,
the 50-sqm noodle joint exudes a calm yet
mysterious presence with its bamboo-cast
concrete storefront. Two rustic steel boxes
penetrate through the solemn exterior:
the taller one is cladded with rusted
steel panels and its shorter neighbour
is built like a metal scaffold. These three
elements together orchestrate a journey of
discovery.
selected porcelains. Finally, a series of
metal wires are draped across the dining
room to create the lighting feature with
hanging bulbs. Balancing the rustic
interiors, these reflective strands create
a poetic notion of dining under a noodle
rack.
Walking past the entry box, a customer is
greeted by a composed counter design
lined with the bamboo mold used for
casting the exteriors. As one proceeds
towards the halo surrounding the grid
structure, the interior layers start revealing
themselves. Firstly, the original wall is
stripped down to its structural blocks
to resonate with the rustic metal grid.
Secondly, wooden boxes are carefully
placed within the rack to showcase
Playing with the duality between rustic
and refined, eastern tradition and western
representation, Lukstudio introduces
a crossover between fast food chain
and upscale diner. The Noodle Rack
differentiates itself from the stigma of
kitsch fast food “hole in the wall” on
every street of China. It demonstrates
how Chinese eateries have the potentials
to be reborn into hip gathering spots
comparable to the new trend of cafés.