This Yakitori Bar's Decor is Made Up of Old Ethernet Cables
Who would have thought that old ethernet cables had a culinary use?
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We don't blame Kengo Kuma for his latest architectural creation. After all who can forget the endless struggle that the ethernet cable has imposed on us through the ages? Years of switching the plug from the desktop computer to the landline in the middle of your game of space invaders when Mum had to call Grandma. That angry robot song of the dial up tone that continues to be the theme music for our nightmares even through Wifi has replaced it with silence. And the inevitable knot of wires that was harder to solve than the Da Vinci Code. Kengo Kuma's massacre of the ethernet cables is an act of revenge, a genocide of poor quality internet, and to be honest, the wires do a much better job decorating this restaurant than they ever did securing a decent internet connection.
Tetchan is a yakatori bar in Kichijoji, a suburb of Western Tokyo. It is situated down a popular little stretch of shops called Harmonica Yokocho, which is renowned for its fossilisation of the post World War II Japanese black market. The alley is packed with shady little kiosks and booths that channel some pretty masochistic memories of organ harvesting and illicit weapon pedalling, but are now more inclined to sell street food and knick knacks. Amidst the chaos is Tetchan, whose design, after knowing the alleyway's history, is impeccably in tune with its environment.
The eatery is post apocalyptic in appearance. Hoards of outdated ethernet cables deck the floors, scale the walls, dress the chairs, and even act as makeshift light shades. The dining space looks like a tomb for every now-irrelevant cable in the world. Upon first look, the design might feel like a temporary fad, which, once people get tired of sitting on cord-cushions, will die out faster than you can say wifi. But upon further consideration, the idea behind the architecture runs deeper than recycled furnishings. It speaks to the speed of technological revolution, the way that today's breaking edge technology is tomorrow's quirky retro wallpaper. And if you're thinking about it like that, it's actually kind of creepy.
Creepy, yes. But also problematic. Because a restaurant filled to the brim with wifi routers wouldn't be quite so aesthetic.
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[via PSFK]
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