The Lower Koirinoya Waterfall—a place where nature managed things without us: pink granite, icy water, heavy Karelian forest—and a silence that is louder than the waterfall itself. Boardwalks and viewing platforms were once built here, making things seemingly more convenient—but something intangible snapped. It’s as if a wild creature was led on a leash. Travelers still debate in their reviews: convenient, but… maybe it wasn’t worth it?
The results of my visual research led me to conclude that a restaurant in this location is unnecessary. The longer I looked at this panorama, the clearer the conclusion became—nothing really needs to be built here. A restaurant here is superfluous. So, I stopped looking for a place for a restaurant and started looking for a place where it could not exist.
The project’s architectural solution is the construction of a through bridge connecting four banks. The island juts out, rises upward, and after the restaurant is built inside, it is placed back onto the roof like a hat. The outline of the restaurant maintains the conceptual topographical contour but takes on a slightly different shape.
Plants selected for planting on the mound were chosen based on the length of their root systems. Preference was given to those whose roots could spread horizontally rather than vertically.