Black Swan Restaurant | Chris Shao Studio

The Swan is in everything.

Continuous lines drift across a series of canvases forming the intersecting swans with a

fitting grace. It was this painting, ‘Swans’ (2022) by Gary Hume, that embedded itself in the

mind of Chris Shao, the seed from which the Black Swan concept grew.

"There's no illusion of three-dimensional space in the works, but there is plenty of time: light

time, because they change throughout the day.” — Gary Hume on ‘Swans’.

Chris Shao Studio followed the intrigue of their founder and delved deeper into Hume’s mind and work. Hume’s idea of “light time” was reinterpreted and reimagined through an interior focussed lens. Hume highlights the subtle beauty that occurs when nature and art passively meet. These interactions can require patience, Chris Shao Studio engineers the

phenomenon through thoughtful execution.

On the first floor of the Luo Hong Photography Art Museum, the main dining area sits in view of an oriental landscape garden. Patrons are not only fed fine French cuisine but a fusion of simple modernist design and rich natural beauty.

Swans float in the lake while diners look on with a full view. Threaded throughout each room

is the swan form, in some overt and other more gestural ways. The foyer desk emulates the

Swan while a Caroline Sarkozy designed chandelier centers the area, and foretells the

overall design of the space with Swan-like layers of cascading feathers.

Real swans provides diners in the main dining with a moment's pause, in the presence of the

creature’s grace. In Chinese culture the black swan has come to describe something

incredibly rare. The something rare of the Black Swan project is its delicate and intricate

approach to details. It invites you to look on and appreciate. Black Swan is a place out in the

open, and yet, somehow feels like a secret whispered.

The muted interior palette mirrors the swan’s elegance, floating it seamlessly from room to

room and creating cohesion. Texture and material are blended, layer upon layer, offering

patrons textural vignettes for their eyes to sink into. Subdued colors enable the lavish and

diverse use of material, flowing with a movement reminiscent of the swan. Stone, plaster,

velvet and metals collide in excess while monochromatic shades maintain harmony.

The Black Swan is an ode to its muse, quiet luxury and elegance. The sublime is given four

walls, the natural and man-made synchronize to articulate the uncomplicated: the swan can

be found everywhere and in everything if you use the right light to find it.

Project Information

Project name: Black Swan Restaurant

Project location: F/1, Luohong Art Museum, Tianzhu Town, Shunyi District, Beijing

Project type: interior design

Project status: built

Principle designer: Chris Shao

Design team: Chris Shao Studio LLC

Design period: June 2022

Construction: period: June 2024

Interior floor area (m2): 1300

Lighting consultant: Zhu Hai Yan

Other consultants:

Material: Silver foil, micro cement, acrylic, art paint, marble, carpet

Furnishing brands: Baccarat

Photographer: Zhu Hai Studio