Firm： Atelier Boter

Type： Commercial › Supermarket Hospitality + Sport › Restaurant

STATUS： Built

YEAR： 2020

SIZE： 0 sqft - 1000 sqft

BUDGET： $10K - 50K

To understand a city, one should first visit its traditional market.

Taiwan is a country surrounded by the sea; the Donggang Fish Market, located in the south of Taiwan next to a major fishing port, naturally becomes the epitome of life of the southern port. Locals call the well-dressed and extravagant foreigners "Hua Chiao", meaning generous customers.

Tseng Seafood (Tseng) was initially a fish stall when it was founded in 2000 in at the Donggang Fish Market; the owner started to serve seafood dishes after the refurbishment of the market space in 2012, using additional rented stalls as their dining space.

The main intention of the stall transformation design is to recover the gradually fading professional spirit and market culture at the fish market.

The 2-meter aisles in the market serve the functions both for the movement of the market visitors and for them to stop by the stalls. As the fish market is often too crowded causing a lack of space for thinking, the crucial 10 second stop by is what decides if the visitors are going to become the stalls’ customers. The visual focus of the stall design is then put on the vertical frame of the stall.

We remove redundant display photos and overcrowded texts on the signboard and replace it with moisture-resistant corrugated boards to introduce a unique yet local style to the stall. Corrugated boards are widely used in Taiwan, using such material also represents the continuation of time.

We observed that the height between 1 and 2 meters is the best height for the visitors to admire the displayed seafood and appreciate the chef working at the stall. Visitors near the stall do not need to look upward for meaningless text solicitation; what they visually focus on are the colors of seafood, glowing skins, clear eyes and delicate textures. The fish market ought to be an exhibition for both education and consumption, it is a part of the market culture.

“Treasure box” is a metaphor proposed by the design team. Early in the morning the owner arrives at the port to pick up specially selected fish and handles it into different servings. As the light is turned on and irradiates the displayed seafood, the stall looks just like a glittering treasure box that proudly shows off its most valuable.

From our observation on the lighting habits in the fish market, we finally use LED lights diffused through polycarbonate plates to evenly illuminate the display platform and dining tables. The texture of the seafood is visually enhanced under the light temperature of 4000K, creating a visual communication between the chef and his customers. The overall cool color scheme at the stall brings a sense of professionalism while the dark tabletop brings a sense of solidity.

As the owner continues to choose the best ingredients, be determined to improve their cooking, and moves on advancing the fish market’s culture, the stall becomes an epitome of the fish market’s experience.