Architects: Chris Shao Studio LLC
Area: 1,300 m²
Year: 2024
Photography: Zhu Hai Studio
Principle Designer: Chris Shao
Lighting Consultant: Zhu Hai Yan
City: Beijing
Country: China
The BLACKSWAN Restaurant, an interior design project by Chris Shao Studio in Beijing, integrates modernist design with natural beauty. Located at Luohong Art Museum, this 1300 m² space, completed in 2024, uses materials like silver foil, micro cement, and marble. The design, inspired by Gary Hume’s ‘Swans’, features a muted palette and intricate details, including a Caroline Sarkozy chandelier.
The swan motif is pervasive in the BLACKSWAN Restaurant, where continuous lines across canvases form intersecting swans with elegant grace. This concept originated from Gary Hume’s 2022 Swans painting, which profoundly inspired Chris Shao.
Gary Hume noted about ‘Swans’:
There’s no illusion of three-dimensional space in the works, but there is plenty of time: light time because they change throughout the day.
Chris Shao Studio delved into Hume’s ideas, particularly “light time,” reinterpreting them through an interior design lens. Chris Shao Studio engineered Hume’s focus on the subtle beauty of nature and art interactions with thoughtful execution.
Situated on the first floor of the Luo Hong Photography Art Museum, the main dining area offers views of an oriental landscape garden. Diners enjoy fine French cuisine amid a blend of modernist design and rich natural beauty.
Swans glide on the lake, visible to diners. The swan form is woven throughout the rooms, both overtly and subtly. The foyer desk emulates the swan, and a Caroline Sarkozy-designed chandelier with cascading feathers hints at the overall design.
Real swans provide diners with moments of grace. In Chinese culture, the black swan symbolizes rarity. The BLACKSWAN project reflects this through its delicate and intricate details, inviting appreciation. It is an open yet secretive place.
The muted interior palette mirrors the swan’s elegance, creating cohesion from room to room. Textures and materials blend, offering patrons textural vignettes. Subdued colors enable the lavish use of materials, flowing with a swan-like movement. Stone, plaster, velvet, and metals combine while monochromatic shades maintain harmony.
BLACKSWAN is an ode to its muse, showcasing quiet luxury and elegance. The sublime is enclosed within its walls, where natural and man-made elements synchronize to reveal the swan everywhere and in everything.
Project Gallery
Project Location
Address: F/1, Luohong Art Museum, Tianzhu Town, Shunyi District, Beijing, China
Location is for general reference and may represent a city or country, not necessarily a precise address.
