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Under Clouds, a Yunnan cuisine restaurant brand, opens its first store in Shenzhen. For many, Yunnan cuisine is a vague concept, as the province is vast and regionally diverse. Rather than narrowly defining a style, the brand focuses on conveying the essence of Yunnan—sourcing ingredients from the region and cooking with modern methods. This clarity of concept inspired the spatial design. A restaurant is a joyful universal heterotopia. For the urban dwellers, the yearning for “Yunnan” symbolizes a psychological counter-mapping of urban life. The interior is not a replica of certain scenes, but a contemporary reinterpretation of the traditional stilt architecture from Yunnan, a cultural vessel rooted in Shenzhen, evoking Yunnan through subtle, atmospheric expressions.
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The site is located in the fast-paced Qianhai, Shenzhen. Its elite urban vibe contrasts sharply with Yunnan’s raw nature and rich ethnic diversity. The design honors the sacredness of both the interior and its urban context. Inspired by Yunnan’s stilt architecture, the design abstracts these elements into a sequence of structural frames. This system forms a conversation media between restaurant and context, shaping a sensorially rich space that feels spiritually distinct—inviting diners to immerse or interact. At the entrance, a wooden frame façade engages in a subtle dialogue with the street—respectful yet distinct. The interior sets itself apart from daily life, offering a unique experience that evokes alternate realities or a sense of "otherness" within the city.
A pure restaurant experience should feel essential—inviting diners to step in and enjoy good food. Our design aims to uphold this sense of clarity and purity. The front façade transparently reveals the Yunnan specialty shop at the entrance and the meandering staircase that connects dining areas across two floors. We hope guests intuitively sense the space’s sincerity and its fluid spatial journey—both visually and physically.
The original site posed spatial challenges: two irregular floors with limited vertical overlap. The first floor had a tall ceiling; the second was long and narrow. We embraced this as an opportunity to create a wandering experience. The design uses three sets of structural frames with eaves to unify the levels, reduce the perceived floor height for intimacy, and bring experience rhythm and order to the space.
We also aimed to create a layered dining experience that balances social interaction and privacy. The frame system reorganizes the seating area in this irregular space. With consistent materials and layered lighting, we crafted a dynamic sequence of spaces with varied social atmospheres: open corridors, semi-enclosed seating zones, wall-side booths with a strong sense of territory, and a shared long table. The openness of the frame system makes these experiences interchangeable, allowing diners to shift between social engagement and introspection—while immersing themselves in the regional flavors of Yunnan.
Yunnan remains one of China’s top travel destinations—a place of rich culture, natural beauty, and unique geography; a land of freedom, safety, and poetic charm that contrasts sharply with urban life. The design brings the essence of a tropical rainforest into the concrete city, creating a new dialogue and experience. This allows “Yunnan” to appear in Shenzhen with a fresh story and identity, enabling visitors to experience its culture in a richer, deeper way.
A.R.C. (Atelier Ruofan Chen) is an architecture and design studio founded in Los Angeles, with regional offices in Shenzhen and Chengdu. We specialize in urban design, architectural design, and interior design, combining a global perspective with locally grounded expertise.
As a multidisciplinary design consultancy practicing across urban design, architecture, landscape, and interiors, A.R.C. explores new possibilities for the relationship between people, nature, and society through spatial and architectural strategies. Grounded in a deep understanding of client needs and project context, we focus on the native conditions of design and construction—embracing the uniqueness and complexity of each site. Guided by research and enabled by technology, we pursue design solutions that are both sincere and thought-provoking.
