ALINEA Restaurant Design

This restaurant is designed for Alinea which is based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, founded by Grant Achatz and Nick Kokonas. As Alinea was awarded three stars from the Michelin Guide, dining at Alinea is not only delicious, but also fun, emotional, and provocative. It serves tasting menu of molecular gastronomy food of between 18 and 22 courses.

The concept called ' Exposed Fragments' is inspired by the innovative way to dine in Alinea Restaurant, which bestowed upon the signature dish ‘Table Dessert’. Table Dessert is a food combination dish painted on the table by the chef, expressing abstract art that gives people an unusual experience of consuming food. Hence, three keywords are being extracted from the motion of creating the dish: swirling, fragment, and exposure. ‘Swirling’ comes from the motion that created by the variety of stroke directions, while ‘Fragment’ is inspired from the bowl-size chocolate ball that being thrown and shattered into irregular pieces, and ‘Exposure is represents the main dishes that exposed out from the broken pieces.

The concept itself forms swirling movements that are fragmented to create the space by incorporating central courtyard & airwell to the space. It is then being brought into the interior space as the elements lead guests to have a variety dining experience. It creates fun, memorable, and makes people endure to sit in long hours.