For dinner in a subway. The Tokyo Station, to be precise, where the “Ramen Street” is located, a famous underground district of the Japanese food at all hours. This is the suggestion that moved Velvet, the creative laboratory led by Gianluca Bocchetta, known to transform places into experiences, in the opening in Turin, of Tan Street. The restaurant, which is located a stone’s throw from the Porta Nuova station of the Piedmontese capital, is a new format that merges contemporary Asian cuisine and narrative design. Designed as a scalable and dynamic concept, Tan Street is part of a segment still discovered in the city’s restaurant scene: that of a place capable of offering not only food, but also an immersive experience.
For Tan Street, Velvet conceived an ideal journey: an imaginary subway that starts from Turin and arrives in the beating heart of Asia, crossing night markets, neon and overcrowded signs. “We have reflected – explains Bocchetta – on the element of innovation to be introduced: a partly evocative design, in part our personal interpretation of the concept of contemporary Asian. Some elements – such as light signs, banners with urban traffic, the Japanese metro stop – are declared calls. Other spaces, on the other hand, are original reinterpretations: modern lanterns, metal false ceilings, decorated decorations to Adventor gaze while explores authentic but accessible Asian flavors. “
The gastronomic proposal reflects the same setting: few iconic selected dishes, low costs and a short but intense travel idea in the eastern flavors. A conscious choice that is also reflected in the interiors, far from futurist minimalism in favor of a warm and immersive atmosphere. Although Turin in recent years has seen an exponential growth of Asian -inspired rooms, a place was missing that would combine coherence cuisine and narrative design. Tan Street aims to fill this void, positioning itself not only as a restaurant, but as the first stage of a wider project: to create a small urban pole where gastronomy, architecture and culture meet.
Velvet Studio, with offices in Turin and Milan, stands out for the ability to anticipate trends and imagine new ways of living and interacting with space. Among his best known projects include the relaunch of Piazza Carlina in Turin, interventions in New York and Miami, and the creation of the Design District barrier.
Tan Street therefore presents itself as the first wagon of a longer race, where cuisine and architecture chase each other without too many formality, but with the ambition – not too hidden – to redesign a part of contemporary Turin. For now, the city seems ready to get on board.