TANAKA OF TOKYO

The above plans and the text below are part of a submission packet for the AIA 2016 design competition.

The Tanaka of Tokyo @ Ohana East Hotel has opened its doors on October 2015

Design Concept:

The key to our successful design was finding a way to create a spacious dining atmosphere synonymous with TOT’s branding, in spite of this location’s low ceilings and scattered structural columns.  This was challenging as it required coordinating the routing of the chilled water, potable water, fire sprinkler and electrical conduits around the dining perimeter.  Also, in order to make the 8’-3” ceilings seem taller, soffits were created over the teppan tables. At 6’-9”, these soffits helped create an intimate dining atmosphere while also concealing the air conditioning units used at each teppan cluster.  The soffits were clad in copper laminate, and their contrast against the flat black ceiling helped create the negative space needed to make these areas feel more spacious.

Another challenge was providing a continuous, visually connected dining experience in this structurally divided space.  Due to the difference in structural elements, this space naturally let itself become divided into two distinctive dining areas A and B.  The bar became the perfect buffer / connector between the two distinct dining areas, allowing us to create a spacious, open feel in the front dining area, while the back dining area became cozy and intimate.

During demolition we discovered a section of our flooring slab had been sloped to accommodate the hotel’s driveway which was below our space.  This slab sloped up to 18” at the Makai perimeter of our front dining area, and it interfered directly with our seating layout along this wall.  As it was not possible to eliminate an entire teppan cluster, we solved this problem by moving the seating layout slightly mauka and building a continuous bench over the raised floor area.  This bench then provided seating as well as extra storage space in a section that would otherwise have been unusable.

Overall, our design approach turned this difficult space into a welcoming, spacious and distinguished restaurant that now fits perfectly into the TOT family of restaurants.