Located in one of the most bustling night life 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, however, not exceeding the 94 square meters, and the ceiling height limited at a crushing 2.1m, were decisive in shaping the dinning space. Considering the water tanks heavy weight to be introduced in a relatively old building, the aquariums were positioned exclusively on the top of load bearing beams. Moreover, the aquariums require a maintaining space on the top restricting them from reaching the ceiling and creating a dramatic effect. To create the immersive experience, walls were finished in mirrors and the ceiling in a similarly reflective aluminum panels expending the space in all directions and recreating the oceanic life forms of the aquariums in a surrounding environment. The ceiling features a white circle where air-conditioning and lighting equipment were placed, a floating disk accentuating the illusion of being under a larger aquarium overhead.
The Parallel Blue
KTX archiLAB
Bronze

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Bill Bouchey
Principal - Director of Design Interiors
at HOK
2 influences appear to be at play h...
6
4
5
4
4.75

Tola Ojuolape
Senior Project Designer
at Selina
5
5
5
4
4.75

Martin Mostböck
Founder and creative director at AID
at Martin Mostböck. AID - ArchitectureInteriorsDesign
6
5
4
4
4.75

Daniel Wigham
Strategy & Sustainability Lead
at StudioXAG
The space feels one dimensional - I...
4
5
4
4
4.25

Aezad Muzaffar Alam
Co-Founder and Design Director
at REFORM Studio
4
5
4
4
4.25

Tiffany Yao
Regional Workplace Manager
at Newmark
5
5
5
5
5

Christina Wissing Oppermann
Commercial Director
at Brandt Collective
4
4
5
4
4.25

Penny Craswell
Writer
at The Design Writer
4
4
4
4
4

Zhang Jiliang
Vice President
at Greentown China Holdings
6
6
6
5
5.75
Designer
Client
Je Mare Aquarium Dining
Floor area
94 ㎡
Completion
2020
Designer