LADY GINKGO CHILDREN'S CAFE
Design: SILO Studio (JSA Architects)
Location: Fortune Mall – Honghu East Road, Yubei District, Chongqing, China
Capacity: 212 seats
Area: 833 sqm
Project Year: Completed 2018
Contractor: IPS Interiors
Family-friendly restaurants oriented towards young children have saturated Shanghai, Beijing and other major Chinese cities in the past several years, satisfying a demand for safe environments where young parents can relax while their children freely play. Surprisingly Chongqing, a major city in Sichuan Provence, had yet to open a restaurant of this type.
Since Chongqing would be Lady Gingko’s first location, we played an important role in helping the client articulate their brand. This project would be the first physical expression of their business plan, and also provide a foundation for a visual vocabulary that could evolve and be applied to new locations.
Beyond a strong visual identity, we also sought to extract the most value from the restaurant’s unique site, a pattern we hope to replicate in future Lady Gingko locations. Though attached to conventional shopping center, for instance, the Chongqing space’s 2-level space, existing skylight, and surrounding glass with natural landscape, provided opportunities to make this branded environment place-specific as well. Party rooms could be naturally lit with beautiful views, a slide could be installed in the 2-story stair volume, high ceilings allowed the height for multi-level play structures, etc.
Design Process
We began work with the client before they had settled on a specific site, preparing preliminary space-planning to help them decide between different location options. We introduced a Graphic Designer to help the client with their logo and branding, and provided advice during the interview and selection of Contractor. We were involved throughout the construction process, adjusting and adapting the design as needed while lighting, furniture, materials, and play equipment were finalized.
