In November 2023, Da Ya Li Restaurant Group quietly launched its upscale brand Wanwea·Yuan. Designed by Daquan Wang of TANZO Space Design, the design process was challenging—akin to grass forcing its way through cracks—but the final result reflects the restaurant’s name: starting from abstract chaos and gradually forming a vivid, structured space as people enter.
Project Name: Wanwea · Yuan Restaurant
Studio Name: Tanzo Space Design
Project Address: Beijing, China
Project Area: 1000㎡
Design Time: August 2022
Opening Time: November 2023
Project Photography: TOPIA Visuals
The design doesn’t aim to impress with emptiness but to create a flexible architectural experience that adapts to its strong location and surroundings. Working with Wild Garden, the team redefined the site using a mix of indoor and outdoor courtyards. The layout—including lawns, paths, and reflective water—creates a layered, scenic composition where light and shadow interact dynamically.
As visitors move through the space, there’s no strict Eastern or Western identity. The garden-like layout reflects a more universal, natural approach rather than a specific architectural style. It’s designed to evoke a calm, expansive feeling that goes beyond regional traditions.
Inspired by the ancient Classic of Mountains and Seas, which maps the world from both a vast and detailed perspective, the space taps into a deep cultural memory. Wanwea·Yuan creates an environment where natural landscapes, local customs, and flavorful experiences come together to form a rich, imaginative setting.
A key architectural feature is the sculptural wall at the entrance—designed to resemble an unfolding scroll. Visitors enter by walking alongside solid walls and a narrow water feature, gradually transitioning into the main space. The design compresses and blurs the boundary between indoors and outdoors using elements like stone walls, wooden eaves, and soft lighting.
Contrasts are everywhere—light and dark, solid and soft, primitive and modern. White surfaces meet dark stone; natural light meets geothermal heat; quiet river views coexist with abstract highlands. These elements come together in a way that is both emotionally intense and ultimately calming.
The restaurant is divided into multiple clusters of spaces with varying functions and scales. The layout flows smoothly, like a well-orchestrated dining experience. A centerpiece of the public area is a custom bar made from 386 kg of annealed copper, which serves as a bold visual anchor. Nearby, a sunken lounge offers a peaceful atmosphere with curving booths and open skylights, evoking natural imagery.
As guests move toward the wine-tasting area, the design shifts from “fire to water,” referencing the cyclical energy flow of the Five Elements. Towering wine cabinets lead to a glass-roofed sunroom that blends interior and exterior. Warm wood walls, folded like fabric, emit soft light, while large sculptural leaves—resembling the Buddha’s hand—hang overhead, symbolizing spiritual energy.
Private dining rooms are self-contained yet connected to a tea room and entertainment zones. Here, light and fire are the central motifs, with rich colors, textured materials, and layered art elements. The designer uses ambiguity and contrast to create tension between the visible and the hidden.
In the entertainment area, reflective stainless steel is cut into hand-welded triangles and placed on walls and ceilings. Ground-level lighting creates mirrored surfaces that reflect movement and space, offering a sleek and surprising contrast to the surrounding warmth.
The banquet hall’s design mimics a pagoda roof, with stacked wooden beams and carefully placed openings that manage low ceiling height. Though the space doesn’t open to the sky, it gives the impression of vertical expansion, connecting the interior to the wider natural world.
Throughout the project, architecture is in constant dialogue with light, time, and nature. The intention is to evoke stillness, contemplation, and timelessness. The space also includes five real fireplaces, emphasizing life force and warmth. In this design, the building fades into the background—nature and human activity take the spotlight.
The restaurant features nine private rooms, each named with a simple, auspicious word. These names reflect a long cultural history, echoing Du Fu’s admiration for Sichuan’s calm and unpretentious charm—a warmth that still defines the space today.
A quiet tea room by the terrace and lake provides a peaceful retreat, seamlessly blending interior comfort with an outdoor view.
To Daquan Wang, successful design means understanding not just the site or cultural references, but also the emotional needs of the client and the deeper human connection a space can offer.
Wanwea·Yuan is not defined by Eastern or Western styles. After four months of development, it became a space rich in layered meaning—where ancient imagination meets modern experience. The emotions it evokes may be brief, but their impact can be lasting.
For the designer, true success means the space lives on beyond its completion—becoming part of everyday life, flowing into the rhythms of nature and community.
