SUR

Lead Designers CHE YUN SU-YU

Entry Description

SUR, a Michelin-starred fine dining restaurant in Taichung, Taiwan, is housed in a repurposed 1950s soap factory. The design challenge was to preserve the structure’s industrial heritage while embodying the chef’s philosophy of “infinite continuation” in culinary innovation and sustainability through local ingredients. The original building’s curved ceiling beams and circular columns provided a strong architectural identity. Instead of masking the building’s age, the design embraces it. Concrete walls—weathered and imperfect—were left untouched. These raw surfaces contrast with the precise, modern interventions within, offering a layered sensory experience that mirrors the cuisine. The ceiling’s undulating wave pattern serves as a metaphor for endless culinary exploration. Created through sculpted texture and layered lighting, it evokes continuous movement and transformation. This spatial rhythm extends to the layout: five bespoke tables arc around the central open kitchen like satellites, symbolizing culinary ideas radiating from a single creative core. Lighting was carefully curated to amplify this concept. A gradient of color temperatures (2600K, 3000K, and 3400K) washes the ceiling, adding depth and movement. Custom museum-grade pendant fixtures—designed for glare-free, directional lighting—illuminate each dish with surgical precision, enhancing the artistry.

Sustainability Approach

Materiality bridges old and new. Locally reclaimed fragrant wood—crafted by a master of traditional joinery—was used for dining tables, adding warmth and history. Its organic texture contrasts with the cool concrete and crisp lighting, creating a sensory balance between rusticity and elegance.
At the entrance, a wall of backlit glass bricks marks the transition from urban exterior to immersive interior. This luminous threshold invites guests into a world where design, heritage, and gastronomy converge.
SUR is not just a restaurant—it is a vessel for memory, innovation, and sensory discovery. Its interior is a seamless expression of a culinary philosophy that honors origin while looking endlessly forward.