Transforming a Hopelessly Cramped Property into an Unbookable 'Undersea Train'

When you work as a designer, you occasionally receive a gift called an 'impossible challenge'.

The site was on the 5th floor of a multi-tenant building near Ueno Station. It was a space of about 29 tsubo (95 square meters). Originally an izakaya with private rooms, it had small private rooms lined up tightly on both sides of a narrow corridor.
The client's request was as follows.
With the izakaya business struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic, they wanted to change the business model to a creative French aquarium restaurant to target a different demographic and increase the average customer spend. In fact, the previous year, the same owner had renovated an izakaya in Shinjuku 3-chome into an aquarium dining restaurant called 'Jumare,' which became a hit with a six-month waiting list. The profits from that alone were enough to cover the losses of all their other stores due to COVID. They wanted that same magic again.
However, as I stared at the blueprints on-site, I held my head in my hands.
There was an absolute condition that the kitchen location could not be changed. Under that constraint, if we tried to secure the minimum number of seats to make the business viable, the width of the main corridor would be only '85 centimeters.' 85 centimeters. That is so narrow that when customers pass each other, they have to turn sideways to get through.
A high-end French restaurant inherently requires a spacious atmosphere. No matter how beautifully you decorate it with fish tanks, this suffocating narrowness could lead to a decline in the image of the French restaurant.

What should I do?

Faced with this physical handicap of 'narrowness,' I needed a 'justification' that customers could truly accept, one that would make a high-end business model work even in a small space.

An inspiration that came while watching a movie
What gave me a hint when I was stuck was a train movie called 'Snowpiercer' that I happened to watch.
The moment I saw the narrow corridors of the train speeding across the screen, the dots connected in my brain.
'That's it. If it's a luxury passenger train, wouldn't a narrow corridor feel natural?'
From there, the concept for this space came together all at once.
'A journey on a luxury train running along the seabed. Please enjoy a moment of elegant dining while watching the fish from the train window.'
With this story (concept), customers should be able to enjoy the space without feeling uncomfortable, even if it is narrow.

The work of translating words into space
Of course, our job as spatial designers is not to deliver this justification to customers in writing. It is important to convey that 'this is an undersea train' the moment they step into the space, without needing any explanation.
Given the Ueno location, we set the target audience as couples on dates and decided to secure plenty of couple seats.
* Train window effect: We installed fish tanks in frames that mimic train windows.
* The magic of illusion: The four-person private rooms are quite small, but we used mirrors extensively so that they wouldn't feel cramped.
* Memories of the water surface: The etched glass surrounding the couple seats was designed to evoke the image of flowing water, and the wavy stainless steel plates on the ceiling were meant to suggest the water's surface.
Furthermore, we designed couple seats that surround a cylindrical, semi-circular fish tank. When you sit in the seat, the central tank is reflected inside the surrounding cylindrical glass, creating a mechanism where you can enjoy a fantastic landscape as if you were surrounded by a 360-degree aquarium.

Space can be the strongest weapon in business
The aquarium restaurant 'Nautilus' was successfully completed.
▼Aquarium Restaurant Nautilus Photo Gallery▼

The desperate handicap of a 'cramped property' was inverted into a one-of-a-kind charm through the power of concept and the magic of design. Physical constraints sometimes push a designer's creativity to the limit.
Spatial design is not mere decoration. It is a strategic space to maximize revenue and customer attraction, and to powerfully boost a business.
If you are hitting a wall with the size or shape of your store, or with attracting customers, we might be able to help you break through that wall with the power of design.
Please take a look at the challenges (portfolio) we at KTX Archilab have taken on so far.
▶︎ KTXArchilab Official Website