KUROGI || This Zen Japanese Restaurant in Suning Zhongshan Golf Resort Celebrates Impermanence and Imperfection
Imperfect, Impermanent, incomplete.
At first, these words may seem to suggest a negative connotation, but viewed in the context of the acclaimed Michelin-star Kurogi Japanese restaurant’s architecture, interior design, and landscaping, these are essential elements that complete the zen aesthetic of the space. Known as the ‘hardest restaurant to reserve in Tokyo’, Kurogi has opened its second location located at the Suning Zhongshan Golf Resort in Nanjing. The restaurant’s new premise is set in a tranquil environment away from the hustle and bustle of the city.
The landscaped courtyard provides intriguing and ever-changing scenery year-round. Flat eaves are placed atop the structural wooden ‘boxes’ of the restaurant to blend into the surrounding.
Natural materials such as bamboo, trees, waterscapes and stones are emphasized to create a serene courtyard landscape. Whether it’s the pitter-patter of the rain on the bamboo, the gentle breeze passing through the trees, or the slow-moving water in the mirror-like waterscapes, the sounds of the courtyard reflects nature’s rhythm. For nature lovers, this is music to their ears.
Water features allow the moonlight and walkway lamps to mirror themselves of its surface. The stillness invites guests to slow down and meander along the wooden pathways.
The dining corridors and rooms feature a minimalist design because Kurogi is a place where patrons go to escape the busyness of the world, to find their moment of tranquility and peace. The restaurant is designed to feel as though it is floating atop of the courtyard. Simple wooden “boxes” appear are topped with flat eaves to blend into the natural surrounding.
A slender skylight draws in natural light to create an impermanent interplay of light and shadow in the room.
The interior design is void of sophisticated details and artificial sculptures to allow guests to focus on the beautiful scenery that changes with the seasons framed by the windows and doors facing the courtyard. A slender skylight in the dining room adds to the changing faces of the interior. As the sunlight fills the room at varying degrees throughout the day, it casts unique shadows that allude to the beauty of impermanence.
The restaurant incorporates traditional Japanese elements like wooden tables and dining chairs, tatami rooms, Japanese-style wallpapers and textured wall finishes to evoke the classy elegance of a Japanese restaurant.
Traditional Japanese-style wallpaper and wall finishes add a touch of the orient.
The minimal interiors collaborate with the changing natural elements of the courtyard to bring forth beauty in imperfection, impermanence, and incompleteness. Every day presents a different experience depending on nature’s temperament.
Every corner of the space is designed to minimize the stimulants, offering a clean slate for visitors to experience exquisite cuisine in a tranquil setting.
PROJECT DETAILS
Project name: KUROGI at Suning Zhongshan Golf Resort, Nanjing
Client: Suning Real Estate Group Co., Ltd.
Location: Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China
Interior Design: CCD / Cheng Chung Design (HK)
Lighting Design: CCD / Cheng Chung Design (HK)
Art consultant: CCD · WOWU Art Consultancy
Area: 1,600 square meters
Completion time: December 26, 2020
Photographer: Wang Ting
Photo copyright: CCD