Rootz

This club lounge, Rootz, was planned in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, the roof parking space of the existing shopping center named Lot 10 which greets the 20th anniversary. I felt fortunate as I was able to participate and design for the master plan which included a club, theater, restaurant and the place of the courtyard. It has taken a year and six months to me from planning to the completion and further reinforces the structure.

I resembled the rooftop of the Lot 10 shopping centre and making a club lounge as I thought vaguely of different region of people mingled around and dance together in the grand hall of the palace, because there was the certain figure from the old days whether people from the east or west could dance together.

The plan was adopted soon, so I negotiated patiently with the different palaces in various countries and took permission for the copyright from the Russian palace and finally the photograph was taken by a photographer from Japan together with me. We edited it and printed it on form to fit a new skeleton as wallpaper. Thus, we printed it on an organza and hung it in front of the wallpaper to make double layers and represented a ghost phenomenon. I wanted to settle it for palace with rigid material but I did not because I considered that it should be redecorated easily like re-paper the wallpaper from the business face which is said to be short cycle club.

I edited it instead of restoring the palace of the middle ages exactly and not to become too artificial so that the dimensions will only encountered accurately. Then, I had a thought across my mind to create a bright illuminated club to against the typical dark black club because I preferred the design to be seemed under. In the case of this project, it was rare that my first idea and the negotiations of the copyright were going to be main of my work, and that is what I called “design”.

Even if it is a bright club lounge, this club is absolutely accepted by the youth. I feel so relief after knowing that the record explosive sales, drinks sold out, and 200 people whom not be able to enter and waited patiently for their turn in the courtyard.

Yuhkichi Kawai was born in Tokyo, Japan, in 1967. He graduated from the Department of Law from Keio University in 1992. Later, he found his lifelong passion towards design, he enrolled Space design in Kuwasawa Design Institute Tokyo, graduated in 1997. He worked in Super Potato co. , ltd., then in 2003 he established his own firm, design spirits co. , ltd. His initial success has begun with Feast Village (2005) in Starhill Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which won the Gold, Silver, and Merit Award of MSID (Malaysia Society of Interior Designers, Malaysia) in 2005. Feast Village is one of a must-visit place recommended in Wallpaper* City Guides book. He has won numerous prizes with Beijing Noodle No. 9 (2008) in Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, including Grand Prix of Best Store Award (Japan) and Winner of Great Indoor Award (Holland) in 2009. In the same year, The Nautilus Project (2009) in Singapore has been awarded Silver Award of JCD (Japanese Commercial Environment Designers Association Award, Japan). His latest project, Niseko Lookout Café (2010) in Hokkaido, Japan has been awarded as the Winner of Restaurant & Bar Designs Award 2011 (UK). He became a lecturer in Space design at his alma mater, Kuwasawa Design Institute Tokyo in 2011.

Through LICC website