dongqi design adorns chinese eatery with suspended steel mezzanine

designed by dongqi design, le poulet is a 100 sqm restaurant-bar located in shenzen, china. in this project, the goal is to maximize usable space by adding a steel mezzanine which, at the same time, does not impact the quality of the original ground floor. hence, the architects have chosen to suspend the entire steel structure – giving the restaurant a vibrant, industrial flair. 

all images © raitt liu 

as the main element of the design, the steel mezzanine is designed by dongqi design after discussing with the structural engineer and conducting elaborate calculations. as a result, the framework has a curved steel bar that accurately goes through the fins of the balustrade. visually, this creates an elegant curve and leads the general movement of the space. structurally, part of the fins of the balustrade are transformed into a load bearing component, while functionally, the others could still play the role of a balustrade. ‘the entire steel structure looks like a musical instrument and the shape gives a sense of spacial rhythm’, note the architects. 

similarly, the stair of the mezzanine is embedded as a suspended architecture. the balustrade of the stairs, made with a steel panel,  also functions as the loadbearing beam; it is hanged from the mezzanine to let the first step float. furthermore,  a thin steel rectangular table with a length of around two meters is hanged from the structure of the mezzanine to totally free up the ground floor.

through this method, the team wants to present the structural aesthetic of the space. on the opposite side of the mezzanine, a wall made out of thousands of beer bottles is conceived as a 3D art wall designed with informational technology and digital fabrication. at the same time, a color-changing equipment is added to the wall by the lighting designer to create a dynamic atmosphere. after a long time studying the proportions, the façade is renovated with I iron and two different kinds of mesh wire which have different light transmittance. 

project info:

architects: dongqi design
design team: jiang nan, ye jingxian 
steel structure design: yuan xin
completion: march 2016
area: 100 sqm 

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: lea zeitoun | designboom