Thaiphoon II, Roermond, the Netherlands
Restaurant Thaiphoon opened its doors in 2004. When the formula was modified -the focus went from Thai to French cuisine, serving dishes of the highest quality- this change also required the modification of both the interior and the infrastructure of the restaurant. The restaurant was complemented by a small private parking garage connected to the restaurant and a second entrance from the garage.
Those driving into the car park for the first time may well think they have driven into a museum. You can park your car in front of still life paintings of 17 th century Dutch masters in golden frames. The walls and ceiling are a gorgeous red colour and the ground is covered with black tiles. All the painting are still life paintings depicting game, fowl and other types offood, depictions of a 17 th century fish stall at the market, or the interior of a kitchen from the same period. They are reproductions of paintings from the collections housed in the Bonnefantenmuseum in Maastricht and the Rijksmuseum (national museum) in Amsterdam. They include works by Frans Snijders, Joachim Beuckelaer and Pieter Aertsen and a number of beautiful still life paintings from Noortman Master Paintings (Maastricht) by Willem Kalf, Willem Claesz Heda and Jan Janszoon de Heem, amongst others.
Those driving into the car park for the first time may well think they have driven into a museum. You can park your car in front of still life paintings of 17 th century Dutch masters in golden frames. The walls and ceiling are a gorgeous red colour and the ground is covered with black tiles. All the painting are still life paintings depicting game, fowl and other types offood, depictions of a 17 th century fish stall at the market, or the interior of a kitchen from the same period. They are reproductions of paintings from the collections housed in the Bonnefantenmuseum in Maastricht and the Rijksmuseum (national museum) in Amsterdam. They include works by Frans Snijders, Joachim Beuckelaer and Pieter Aertsen and a number of beautiful still life paintings from Noortman Master Paintings (Maastricht) by Willem Kalf, Willem Claesz Heda and Jan Janszoon de Heem, amongst others.
You can park your car in front of still life paintings of 17 th century Dutch masters in golden frames. All the painting are still life paintings depicting game, fowl and other types of food, depictions of a 17 th century fish stall at the market, or the interior of a kitchen from the same period.
From the car park, the entrance to the restaurant itself is marked with a large gold-lit fork cut out of the black door. Behind this door is an entrance tunnel, the inside of which is completely covered with yellow glass mosaic glued onto glass. This yellow glass mosaic is lit up from behind. You therefore find yourself walking through a golden tunnel, bathing in the glow. This golden light can also been seen through the large fork shape cut out of the door.
The entrance tunnel leads you to the lounge/reception area. This used to be the inner courtyard of the restaurant. As a reminder of this, all the walls on one side are covered with green glass mosaic, incorporating the illuminated shadow of a branch of the tree that once stood here.The other walls are covered with grey-green stained strips of cross-cut MDF, chipboard and OSB.
From the car park, the entrance to the restaurant itself is marked with a large gold-lit fork cut out of the black door.
images: Peter Kessels ©
