Third Place Winner
Teacera
Design by
Ebrar Aşkın
“TEACERA presents a compelling concept that successfully merges traditional Japanese tea ceremony traditions with modern design elements. The emphasis on cultural significance, aesthetic appeal, and user experience makes it a promising addition to Kyoto's dining scene. However, attention to practical considerations such as maintenance of vertical gardens and ventilation in tatami rooms will be crucial for ensuring the long-term success of the project. Overall, TEACERA offers a unique and immersive dining experience that celebrates the rich heritage of Japanese tea culture.”
Ebrar Aşkın
Ebrar Aşkın is a fourth-year student at Gazi University Faculty of Architecture.
Celebrating Creativity & Vision
Winner’s Spotlight: An Exclusive Interview
Discover the story behind the victory — from concept to creation.
Congratulations on winning the Extreme Taste Restaurant Design Competition! Can you briefly introduce yourself and your background in design?
Hello there. My name is Ebrar Aşkın. I am a fourth year student at Gazi University Faculty of Architecture. I have carried out different projects within the school, including war museum, children's education centre, workshops and high-speed train station design. I participated in an architectural competition for the first time and I am proud to have won an award. I thank you for deeming my project worthy of this award.
The theme of the competition was "Extreme Taste." How did you interpret this theme in your restaurant design concept?
While interpreting the theme of extreme taste in my project, I aimed to make both the taste and the experience of the guests extreme. I also aimed to ensure that those who come to this restaurant have unforgettable experiences and want to come back again. At the same time, I think that the Japanese tea I serve is extreme taste because it makes people travel to Japanese culture.
What inspired you to create the concept for your winning design? Were there any specific flavors, cuisines, or culinary experiences that influenced your vision?
Japanese culture has always been interesting to me. Tea has an important place in Japanese culture. The growing, picking, brewing and even serving of these teas is done with care and ceremony. I wanted to use such an important topic in Japanese culture as a theme in the design of my restaurant. The five types of tea served in my design are all different from each other and are carefully grown and served to guests.
The competition emphasized pushing the boundaries of traditional culinary experiences. How does your design challenge conventional norms in restaurant architecture?
In traditional Japanese architecture, care is taken to use natural materials such as wood and paper. In my design, I aimed to harmonize with nature and create a calm aesthetic by placing wooden material at the center. I also used tatami measurements, a Japanese measurement method, in mass planning. I started the design by creating a gridal order and arranged water elements, gardens, spaces and occupancies in a balanced way.
"Extreme Taste" is about creating an immersive dining experience that stimulates all the senses. How did you incorporate this aspect into your design? Can you describe how each sense is engaged within the restaurant space?
In my design, a visual feast is provided to the guests during the growing and serving stages of Japanese tea. Serving tea in a ceremonial manner actually adds a theatrical atmosphere to the restaurant. Guests can watch this ceremony while tasting. At the same time, while walking around the gardens where tea is grown, the beautiful scent of tea appeals to the sense of smell. The water element used in the landscaping activates the sense of hearing and makes visitors feel like they are walking in a forest. Guests who come to this restaurant to experience extreme taste and experience can enjoy the calmness and peace here.
Visual aesthetics play a crucial role in restaurant design. How did you ensure that your design was visually striking and captured the essence of "Extreme Taste"?
By using bare wood, which has an important place in Japanese culture, in the restaurant structure, flooring and decorations, I actually aimed to use wood as an exhibition element. I wanted to show the guests how wood behaves when it comes together and how it is used as a design element. With the help of the bridges I designed at a higher level, I created an environment for people to have new experiences by offering them a different perspective at a different level. In these bridges, I also wanted to display the open wooden beams on wooden piers from different angles.
The concept of surprise and delight is essential in delivering an extraordinary dining experience. How does your design evoke these emotions for patrons?
I dreamed of a restaurant full of surprises, with the opportunity to have a different experience at every corner. The calmness and peace here gives pleasure to the users.
The architecture of the restaurant should reflect and enhance the concept of intense flavors. Can you explain how your design achieves this goal?
The theme of this project is that intense flavour is provided not only by the sense of taste but also by experience, time spent and new tastes discovered. These tastes make people travel in time and experience the greatest taste.
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