KIMYONA Restaurant / AZAZ Architects

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Text description provided by the architects. Hidden in an architectural wonder amongst the monumental skyline of Riyadh, comes a new speakeasy concept. In a somewhat abandoned Kenzo Tange residential building, dubbed the Airline Building, thanks to travel agencies once occupying the retail spaces on the ground floor, Kimyona hopes to breathe new life. Kimyona, meaning "strange, quaint" in Japanese, is a space that is designed to leave exactly that impression. The new, homegrown speakeasy quietly sets itself within the building. Inspired by analog black-and-white photography, the design aims to manifest the process of photo development into a spatial experience. More so, the design of Kimyona creates a journey of discovery for the customers to travel through. At the entry, the only space visible from the shop exterior, one enters a photographer's gallery. The gallery, with its bright lights, neutral tones, and minimal materiality sets a zen-like atmosphere, where the art being presented takes precedence.