New restaurant in Mexico City combines unique architecture and experiential dining

by Jessica Festa on

Tori-Tori, a new Japanese restaurant located in Polanco in Mexico City, Mexico, has recently finished completion. The project began in 2009 as a joint venture between the Mexico-based firm rojkind arquitectos and the design company Esrawe Studio, with the aim to create a unique contemporary space.

While the restaurant serves Japanese cuisine, the ambiance is more cosmopolitan than many other Japanese restaurants on the market. Imagine an interior full of open spaces, a bar, and terraces that always keep the guest close to natural vegetation.

The inside is actually an extension of the outside, where the facade seems to grow organically from the ground in a mass of steel ivy. You can see through to the restaurant and vice versa, and the pattern on Tori-Tori’s outside controls the ambiance on the inside by filtering light, shadows, and views.

As for the food, guests can expect an array of options, including salads, curries, pastas, fish dishes, beef, chicken, sushi, sashimi, nigri, and more. For more information, click here. Or, to get a better idea of the design of Tori-Tori, check out the gallery below. All photos are courtesy of photographer Paúl Rivera.

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Biblical bridge allows pedestrians to “walk through water” like Moses

by Jessica Festa on

Parting the sea is no longer a feat held just for saints and those with higher powers. Thanks to a new and innovative creation by RO & AD Architects, anyone can walk through water, just like Moses did when he parted the Red Sea.

The Moses Bridge is located in the Netherlands and gives people access to Fort de Roover, an old Dutch Fortress from the 17th century. What makes this bridge unique is the fact that the walkway that would usually go over the water is actually built under the water, making it appear as though individuals walking over it are actually “parting the sea”. Don’t worry, you’ll stay dry as the sides of the bridge extend high enough to keep the water off the footpath.

To make the project even better, the bridge is made of sustainable materials like Accoya wood, a highly durable wood that is treated with nontoxic anti-fungal coating.

On the RO & AD Architects website, the designers talk about the theory that goes into their visionary projects, stating, “We like to be aware of the consequences of our actions, which means we think about the long term effects. Also, we try to feed our practice from a theoretical background. Our theory ‘Evolution as a Strategy for Spatial Design’ is an attempt to set off a radical change in thinking about building and environmental planning, leading to a more sustainable kind of spatial development.”

To get a better idea of how the Moses Bridge works and what it looks like to cross it, check out this video:


D*Haus’ dynamic new house transforms shape with the weather

by Jessica Festa on

When it gets stormy outside, I usually just close my windows. But with the new innovative design concept by D*Haus, homes may soon by able to simply morph when the weather changes.

The London-based company has come up with a eco-friendly house that sits on rails, allowing it to change its form into different configurations, pivoting open and closed, based on the weather. According to Daniel Woolfson of D*Haus, “The dissection of the square into four distinct shapes allows it to be rearranged to form the [equilateral] triangle. This concept alone is fascinating, but the possibilities are endless when applying this formula to the world of architecture and design.”

When developing the home, designers had the regions of Sweden and Lapland in mind, hoping to create something that would respond to the harsh climates of these areas. For example, when it’s chilly out and you need to conserve heat the house can pull itself into a tight square.

There is still some work to do before the house is perfect, as you can probably imagine there are a lot of technical issues that go into a project like this. To get a better idea of how this shape-shifting house works, check out this video:


D*Haus Dynamic from The D*Haus Company Ltd on Vimeo.

Australia plans world’s largest marine park

by Grant Martin on

An area the size of Germany and France combined is about to become the world’s largest marine park off of the north-east coast of Australia. Including a broad swath of the Coral Sea (where the Great Barrier Reef currently resides), the massive area is home to some of the most exotic sea creatures in the world as well as several important shipwrecks from World War II.

The protection afforded from the creation of this park will guarantee that the floral, fauna and archaeological species will continue to thrive unhindered by manmade causes, and will almost definitely pave the road for further tourism in the region.

Announced late last week, the Guardian indicates neither name nor official boundaries for the park as of yet. The government of Australia will release further deals within ninety days.
Superlatives are a bit of a speciality for us at Gadling — there’s something tantalizing about hearing about most outrageous roller coaster or the largest pretzel stand or the drunkest airline passenger in the world. So when we heard that Australia is planning the worlds largest marine park, our fingertips started tingling. Australia — the land of furry creatures and meat pies is going to establish the largest marine park in the world. Awesome.

The area to be protected lies in the Coral Sea off the northeast coast of Australia, where the G

Want to try 300 drinks from 5 different continents?

by Jessica Festa on

On December 1, 2011, ZaZa Bazaar will unveil its Wunder Bar. You will basically be able to go on a cocktail tour around the world without leaving Bristol, United Kingdom, as the bar will feature 300 drinks from five different continents.

Bar manager, Les Richards, and bar consultant, Ro Santus, have spent hours upon hours coming up with innovative and worldly drinks for all tastes and budgets. There will be 35 cocktails with European, Asian, American, and Arctic flare, as well as an extensive selection of spirits, wines, and champagnes. Beers will come from 10 different countries, some of which include China, Portugal, India, and Brazil. No matter what drink you choose, know that you are getting a high quality product that you can feel good about.

“We’ll use the freshest ingredients. Even the syrups and purees will have been made that day. All fruit and vegetables used in the bar will be sourced locally,” says Richards.

And, it’s not just drinks that will be international. There will also be an array of unique menus from around the globe, some of which include curries, sushi, Italian pasta, BBQ, Far East, Chinese, Indian, pizza, burgers, dosa, nacho bar, tex mex, and more.

For more information, visit their website.