This is why we’d like to share John Anthony contemporary dim sum restaurant by Linehouse in Hong Kong:
1// In a nutshell:
John Anthony is a contemporary dim sum restaurant located in Hong Kong with a sustainable message at his heart. The name is drawn from the first Chinese man to be naturalized as a British citizen in 1805, John Anthony, who arrived in east end docklands of London and became the father of what would become the local Chinatown. Linehouse drew the design drew on John Anthony’s journey, exploring the fusion between East and West.
2// What draw our attention the most:
At first, when you move around John Anthony, it is its exquisite exploration of the fusion of architectural styles and materiality of colonial architecture blurred with eastern detailing that captures your eye. At the entrance, it is the terracotta render walls with a triple height arched ceiling clad in pink tiles, and a lime green terrazzo floor. Then, the main dining hall in the restaurant that is an interpretation of the storehouses in the docklands.
Linehouse explored the materials John Anthony would have encountered on his journey: hand glazed tiles, natural and racked renders, terracotta, hand dyed fabrics and hand woven wickers. By doing so, Linehouse plays on the retro nostalgia of the Chinese canteen, fusing this with colonial detailing captured in the details of the timber bar with glass vitrines, wicker leaners and furniture, and gold and maroon floral fabrics. Beyond the dining hall, a series of arched spaces allow for more intimate dining.
However, there is a silent message lying underneath every aspect of the interior and operations at John Anthony’s and traceable in the reclaimed terracotta tiles that pave the main dining hall, sourced from abandoned houses in rural China. Or the recycled plastic tubes that line the ceiling of the bathroom stalls. At the heart of the venue is a sustainable message.
‘Every element incorporates an eco-friendly or ethical initiative, with a focus on the handcrafted,’
From upcycling wasted plastic and paper into coasters and menus, to tiling floors with reclaimed terracotta and using highly sustainable rattan, every element incorporates an eco-friendly or ethical initiative mirrored also in the food and beverage served at the restaurant. The kitchen uses traceable ingredients from sustainable food suppliers and employs equipment to reduce energy usage. Wines and spirits are sourced from environmentally responsible vineyards and craft distilleries.
3// The bigger picture
John Anthony restaurant by Linehouse represents a new approach to spatial design designers are confronted with in terms of sustainability. Customers need to engage also from an aesthetics point of view: sustainability asks for a more desirable and refined design, like the Indigo featherweight, sound-absorbing panels by Studio Flær.
If you are interested in knowing more an¡bout Green Design, see our in-depth study here.
Photography is by Jonathan Leijonhufvud.
