Spatial Hospitality: 7 Restaurants Where Architecture Plays Host

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Hospitality has always been one of architecture’s most emotional pursuits. It is the art of making space feel human, of designing buildings that extend the simple gesture of welcome. Every project under this typology carries a different interpretation of that gesture. Hotels host time, spas host stillness, and restaurants host presence.

If hotels are the architecture of dwelling, then restaurants are the architecture of encounter, and spas are the architecture of care. Each project type creates belonging, but through a different rhythm. Hotels offer continuity — they are places to return to. Spas, meanwhile, offer retreat — they are places to pause. Restaurants incubate presence, as places to meet, taste and remember. When done well, in all three, space plays the role of host.

The following projects reveal how contemporary architects have taken this idea further. Across Bali, Montréal, Beijing and beyond, these restaurants treat design as a form of service, using light, movement and material to craft experiences that feel both personal and universal. Since the users’ experience lasts as long as their meal, the architects have tried make every meal begin long before the first bite.

1. Hosting Through Movement

The View by Rockwell Group, New York City, New York

Popular Choice Winner, Restaurants (L>1000 sq ft), 13th Annual A+Awards

The View shows hospitality through motion. The restaurant sits on the 47th and 48th floors of the Marriott Marquis and rotates once every hour, giving diners a changing view of New York. Rockwell Group redesigned the space to act like a stage.

Blue velvet drapes, metallic ceilings and patterned wood finishes reflect the energy of the Theater District below. Overlapping circles on the ceiling guide the eye and mark the restaurant’s slow rotation. Every seat captures the skyline at some point, so no view feels exclusive. The space makes movement its form of service.

2. Borrowing Cinema’s Sense of Escape

Early Bird Café by About Space, Bangkok, Thailand

Jury Winner, Restaurants (S <1000 sq ft), 13th Annual A+Awards

Early Bird Café welcomes guests through a cinematic atmosphere. About Space drew inspiration from the cult film Zardoz to create an interior that feels slightly surreal. A brutalist counter made from rammed concrete in strawberry tones anchors the room, surrounded by stepped seating built in the same material. Ash wood benches and stools add warmth to the concrete’s cool texture. The light stays low and even, emphasizing shadows and the room’s layered forms. This space looks like a worthy bowl for your first taste of gelato.

3. Revealing the Architecture of a Meal

Lifted Lid by Model Practice, Melbourne, Australia

Popular Choice Winner, Restaurants (S <1000 sq ft), 13th Annual A+Awards

Sopo expresses hospitality by helping diners notice the care behind a meal. Model Practice based the design on the Dosirak, a Korean packed lunch arranged in compartments that balance rice, side dishes, and protein. The restaurant translates that order into architecture.

A suspended box divides the ceiling into sections that mirror the layout below, organizing the small space into clear zones for preparation and dining. The mirrored exterior reflects the city, while the acoustic interior softens its noise. The designers created a dining experience by structuring the restaurant like a meal.

4. Turning Dining into Social Performance

Le Fou Fou by LemayMichaud, Montréal, Canada

Jury Winner, Commercial Interiors (>25,000 sq ft), 13th Annual A+Awards

Le Fou Fou, meaning “the crazy one,” invites guests into a lively setting where the energy generated emulates the foundation of good hospitality. LemayMichaud designed the restaurant as a space that performs around its diners. They used curved walls, mirrored panels and layered lighting to build a sense of rhythm and exchange.

The velvet seating and brass details add warmth that balances the movement in the room. With light pools on tables they gave each group its own small stage. The design celebrates the act of dining together, where conversation, laughter, and presence replace formality.

5. Bringing Warmth into Corporate Space

Lever Club by Marmol Radziner, New York City, New York

Popular Choice Winner, Commercial Interiors (>25,000 sq ft), 13th Annual A+Awards

Lever Club turns a modernist office tower into a place of comfort and exchange. Marmol Radziner redesigned the third floor of Lever House as a private lounge for dining, conversation, and work. They inserted wood-paneled volumes within the glass façade to frame views of the city and the outdoor terrace. The central bar at the centre of the plan is surrounded with custom lounge and café seating that soften the building’s sharp lines. They used green stone floors, aluminum accents, and rosewood finishes to add depth and warmth.

6. Translating Movement into Calm

Somesome Southeast Asian Restaurant by Beijing Jimei Survey and Design, Beijing, China

Special Mention, Architecture +Color, 13th Annual A+Awards

Somesome explores hospitality through inward motion. Beijing Jimei Survey and Design designed the restaurant to move like flowing water, using rippled floors, curved ceilings and a continuous palette to guide guests through the space.

The layout replaces walls with gradients of color and light, allowing circulation to feel organic and unforced. Tables sit like islands within this rhythm, creating quiet spaces for conversation. Digital simulations of movement helped refine the balance between flow and stillness. Where The View looks outward to the skyline, Somesome turns movement inward, offering calm, social connection and a slower rhythm of encounter.

7. Turning Process into Hospitality

Krume Bäcker by Mallol, Panama City, Panama

Popular Choice Winner, Sustainable Interior Project, 13th Annual A+Awards

Krume Bäcker welcomes guests through honesty. Mallol designed the bakery to reflect the integrity of its sourdough-making tradition. They used compacted earth walls, wooden furniture and soft, natural tones to connect the interior with the origins of its ingredients. Light focuses on the bread, treating it as the centerpiece of the experience. The layout encourages slow movement and visual contact with the baking process, turning transparency into a design tool. Shades of beige, green, and chocolate recall the texture of soil and grain.