Charlene Chon

Interlinked is a restaurant and bar that explores the ways technology can foster intimate communication within a social/spatial environment. Society is hungry for information and trends, and desires stimulation of the senses. Using advancements in technology, we capture these moments and share them through our devices and social media applications. This gives us an opportunity to share publicly or privately and allows our peers to live vicariously through our posts. But we don’t get the full experience of being there.  Our devices can become a distraction to interpersonal communication. Face-to-face interactions, and the space they take place in, can become obsolete. How can interior design incorporate technology, to create a dining experience that is engaging and brings people together, rather than distancing them? This plan was choreographed to frame moments in a way that intimately communicates the space and creates shared experiences, both public and private. Cameras and screens are built into the tables and walls in order to capture these moments. Stairs wrap around the mezzanine in the bar area to connect the floors above to those below, and the connected tables are designed to connect the people in the lounge. This design thesis is a response to a crucial and complex social issue of our culture and time.