Happy Panda - Paseo San Francisco
The second branch of the popular Quito restaurant, Happy Panda, to be built in the Paseo San Francisco Shopping Center in Cumbaya, Ecuador. Currently under construction.
The existing space we're working with is long and narrow. Our analysis of the client’s needs revealed that in order to best serve different client types, a private dining space was required in addition to a larger, more public, dining hall. Due to these factors, it made sense to split the dining spaces in two by placing the service areas in between. The private space was placed in the back, while the public dining area faces the entrance. We also raised the kitchen onto a mezzanine level in order to free up more space for seating and a bar.
Our design intent was to create a warm and bright atmosphere that reinterprets traditional Chinese architecture. The ceiling was shaped into two Chinese temples. The Famous scroll painting, Qingming Shanghe Tu, or Along the River During the Qingming Festival, was digitally altered and blown up to the scale of wall paper. The typical Chinese fish scale pattern was used in several variations on different materials. Modern features such as clear acrylic chairs, and naked bulb light fixtures suspended from chromed steel rods, are contrasted with bamboo flooring, and a rice paper dropped ceiling. The aim was to harmonize old and new into a seamless whole.