CLOSING JAN 9TH, 2025

 

The Parallel Blue

  • Prize
    Honorable Mention in Interior Design
  • Company/Firm
    KTX archiLAB
  • Lead Designer
    Tetsuya Matsumoto
  • Hospitality
    Aquarium Dining
  • Location
    Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan
  • Project Date
    July 10th 2020
  • Project Link

Located in one of the most bustling nightlife spots in Japan, The Parallel Blue offers a new aquarium dining experience in Shinjuku, Tokyo.
Challenging the ocean-themed possibilities in the heart of the concrete jungle, the new restaurant turns the simple hospitality environment into an immersive space where dinners are submerged in an aquarium universe. The roles are inversed, the dining room is now contained in a box and surrounded by oceanic sceneries, instead of the classical ornamental or decorative use of aquariums.
The available room not exceeding the 94 square meters, the ceiling height at a crushing 2.1m, and the water tanks heavyweight were decisive in shaping the dining space. To create the immersive experience, walls were finished in mirrors and the ceiling in similarly reflective aluminum panels expending the space in all directions and recreating the oceanic life in a surrounding environment.