this restaurant in india combines pink interiors with bold zebra stripes

this restaurant in northern india references everything from the bygone days of the british empire to the films of wes anderson. the project, which has been designed by RENESA, is located inside of the oldest structures in kanpur, a major industrial city formerly known as cawnpore. described as a ‘concoction of design theories’, the scheme responds to the complex and contradictory architecture that populates the city. ‘the core idea was to create a hybrid rather than pure, compromising rather than clean and leave the visitor hanging in the middle of an artistic sea,’ explains the design team.

all images by saurabh suryan / lokesh dang

dubbed the ‘pink zebra’, RENESA’s design for the feast india co. eatery drew from the client’s love of wes anderson movies. the interior references the american filmmaker’s use of symmetry and restricted color palettes, which often give the expression of a surreal, self-contained world. however, in order to break this rigorous spatial ideology, the architects added black and white zebra stripes to the pinkish tones often associated with the british raj.

‘the simple idea was to create a distinct aesthetic architectural style that connects to the city people and poses its stand by the use of a striking color palette,’ says RENESA. ‘the pink zebra with its unique façade design creates an everlasting effect on the passersby and invites them into a magical, expertly crafted world whose spaces are framed to treat the eyes.’

project info:

name: the pink zebra
architects: renesa architecture design interiors
location: kanpur, uttar pradesh
dates: 2017-2018
area: approx 4,000 sqf (covered and terrace area)
client: sagar bhatia, jaivardhan bhatia // feast india company
photography: saurabh suryan / lokesh dang / suryan//dang

architectural ideology/concept/branding: renesa architecture design interiors
sanjay arora (founder | principal architect), sanchit arora – studio head architect | concept design head/ branding), vandana arora – interior designer | decor head), virender singh- studio technical head | architectural), manav dang – former architecture intern | conceptual team), pranat singh – architectural intern), mayank goyal – architectural intern), dharminder kumar (studio in-charge)

lighting: white lighting solutions – siddharth arora, udit duggal , rahul kansal.
structural consultant: mr. devender damle
graphics team: sanchit arora – studio head architect | concept design head.
pankaj kumar – site graphics team head

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: philip stevens | designboom