SHO U

Inspired by the dramatic intensity and vivid hues of Japanese Kabuki theatre and also by the spatial quality of Peter Greenaway?s ?The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover?, the design for Sho U provides a dining experience that celebrates the unconventional amidst a surprising aesthetic. Eschewing the typical symbols of Japanese dining, the design consciously avoids the ubiquitous shoji screen, an excessive use of natural materials or obvious Japanese ornamentation of any kind.

Celebrating sudden and dramatic spatial and experiential twists, the design begins with an entirely red entry vestibule and unfolds into an all black series of dining nooks. These nooks ring along a full height white dining hall where the spatial experience culminates in an expression of natural light and views to the river beyond.

Two private dining rooms complementing the main dining hall complete the experience. The first features an arched ceiling and a feature art installation in collaboration with renowned Singaporean Artist Lee Meiling. Her fabric art installations of abstracted flowers also float along all the main walls and ceiling, accentuating the restaurant?s red, black and white spaces.

The second private room is designed for intimate couple dining. In this Love Cove, a cozy bed lounger replaces the formality of chairs and tables. Tectonically, the high gloss sheen of polished stone & epoxy finish complement the warm tactility of carpet and velvet. MOD also maintained a holistic design vision for the entire dining experience by collaborating and coordinating the design of the menu, signage and uniforms.

Question, Disturb and Redefine!
Through a series of architectural & interior architectural explorations, Ministry of Design is positioned as an integrated spatial-design practice that consciously blurs prevalent intellectual & literal boundaries between interior space & exterior form. Acknowledging the limitations of these distinctions on our design process, Ministry of Design's explorations are created amidst a democratic "studio-like" atmosphere and progress seamlessly between form, site, object and space.