Location: Yangmeizhuxie Street, Beijing, China
Category: Restaurant
Project Architect: Yanwen Zhu
Team: Byungmin Jeon,Zeng Bo
Area: 235m2
Project Year: 2019
Photographs: Byungmin Jeon

Nicha, meaning “Hello” in the Tujia dialect, is the name of Atelier A’s latest project, a restaurant specialized in Tujia cuisine. Its natural and rustic decoration features the ethnic style and artistic traditions of the Tujia people.
The restaurant is located in an inconspicuous joint of Liulichang Street and Yangmeizhuxie street in Dashilan of Beijing. By highlighting the red bricks of the original building, the architect manages to make it eye-catching yet not abrupt among the grey buildings in the area.
Red bricks are used extensively in this building, including the façade, walls and floors. In order to keep its original outlook, most old bricks are preserved. Only a few new ones are added. These additional bricks are not newly made but recycled, removed from old buildings in Shanghai and then transported all the way to Beijing. They are of the same high quality and pure colour of the original bricks which are nowhere to be found in Beijing. The mark of the additional bricks is deliberately left uncovered in accordance with the genuine and unaffected style of Atelier A.

		Entrance dinning area
		Red brick facade