Hitoshi Abe & Atelier Hitoshi Abe

Project: Aoba-tei Restaurant, Sendai-City / Japan
Aoba-tei is a French restaurant in the Japanese city of Sendai. The two floors of the building are linked by an illuminated blue staircase. The space is dominated by the flowing, back-lit steel cladding to the walls and ceilings. Cut into the surface of the steel are thousands of tiny holes, which form abstract images of the zelkova trees that are such a familiar sight in the city.

The jury's verdict: "The design impressed the jury with its spatial quality and the innovation of the construction. By using a figurative image rendered through pixellated abstraction, the architects have succeeded in combining cutting-edge technology with Japanese cultural heritage."

Website: www.a-slash.jp

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