Cove Dining

This is Cove Dining, a community-centered restaurant designed to support emotional healing through everyday social experiences. Rather than focusing only on traditional healing environments, this project explores how food and gathering spaces can strengthen human connection, create comfort, and encourage a sense of belonging within a community.

Food functions as a universal language that naturally brings people together regardless of age, background, or circumstance. The act of sharing a meal creates opportunities for conversation, relaxation, and connection in ways that feel familiar and welcoming. Because of this, Cove Dining was designed not only as a restaurant, but also as a space where people can socialize, spend time alone, meet with others, or simply enjoy a calming environment.

The architectural design focuses heavily on emotional comfort through curved forms, flowing circulation paths, open gathering areas, and warm spatial experiences. Softer geometry was used throughout the project to reduce harsh transitions between spaces and create a more inviting atmosphere. Large openings and connected seating areas also help strengthen the relationship between the interior and exterior spaces while encouraging interaction throughout the building.

Ultimately, Cove Dining explores how architecture can support community healing by transforming everyday experiences, such as sharing a meal, into opportunities for comfort, connection, and emotional wellbeing.

Online Model:

1. Revit
2. Blocks Revit [online furniture]

Physical Model:

1. Foam Core [floors]
2. Thick Card Stock [walls]
3. Thick Transparent Sheet [glass walls]
4. Thin Transparent Sheet [railings & interior dome
5. Thin Card Stock [kitchen furniture]
6. 3D Printer [furniture]
7. Balsa/Bass Wood [supports]
8. Wood Stick [tree truck and branches]
9. Foam [leaves of the tree]
10. Fake Moss [moss]
11. Cutters
12. Scissors
13. Cutting Board
14. Hot Glue Gun
15. Hot Glue Sticks
16. Tacky Glue
17. Clear Tape

The first step of the project was developing an overall concept for how the building should feel and function within the community. From the beginning, I wanted the restaurant to create a strong sense of flow, openness, comfort, and connection. Some of the main goals were to maximize natural daylight, incorporate elements of nature into the design, and use simple materials to create a calming and welcoming atmosphere.

To achieve this, I based the overall form of the building on overlapping circular shapes. Using circles allowed different parts of the floor plan to push outward or recess inward, creating a softer and more natural flow throughout the space rather than rigid linear movement. This approach also helped create a variety of gathering spaces with different levels of openness and privacy.

The restaurant was designed with two floors. The first floor includes the main kitchen, dining areas, lobby, elevators, bathrooms, outdoor seating, and a central nature-focused feature. The second floor expands the dining experience with additional seating and a bar area while maintaining visual connection to the spaces below.

Throughout the concept development process, the focus remained on creating an environment that encourages both social interaction and individual comfort within a community-centered space.

After finalizing the overall concept, I began developing the first floor in Revit. I started by experimenting with different circular layouts to create the overall shape and flow of the building. Once the main form was established, I added curtain walls, doors, windows, and interior spaces while continuing to refine the circulation throughout the restaurant.

One of the most important design features introduced during this stage was the inverted dome structure placed in the center of the building. This idea was inspired by a precedent image and became a major focal point within the project. Inside the dome, I incorporated a large tree to strengthen the connection between architecture and nature while also helping bring natural daylight deeper into the building.

The surrounding glass elements and open layout help create a brighter and more welcoming atmosphere throughout the restaurant. To improve accessibility and circulation between the indoor and outdoor seating areas, two separate sets of double doors were added along the exterior edge of the building to reduce congestion near the entrances.

Furniture selection also played an important role in reinforcing the overall concept. The seating arrangements were designed to feel comfortable, open, and flexible while still maintaining smooth circulation throughout the building. Different seating groupings allow for both larger social gatherings and smaller, quieter experiences. The lobby furniture was also intentionally selected to maintain a warm and minimal atmosphere that reflects the overall design language of the project.

The second floor followed a similar development process to the first floor. After establishing the layout of the walls and bar area, I continued refining the space by adding counters, shelving, seating, and additional furniture elements.

A major feature of the second floor is the open overlook into the central inverted dome space below. Railings were placed around the upper floor and surrounding opening to maintain safety while preserving visual openness throughout the building. A circular bench was also added around the central opening to create an additional gathering space that connects visitors more directly to the nature element below.

To maintain consistency throughout the project, matching furniture and similar curved forms from the first floor were carried into the second floor design. This helped strengthen the sense of continuity between the two levels while preserving the overall atmosphere of comfort, openness, and community interaction.

After completing both floors of the building, I created sections, elevations, and renderings to better visualize the overall architectural experience and communicate the design more clearly.

The sections helped reveal the relationship between the two floors, the openness created by the central dome feature, and the overall circulation throughout the building. These drawings also provided a clearer understanding of how natural light moves through the interior spaces and how the different areas connect visually.

The renderings were created from multiple viewpoints to fully capture the atmosphere and functionality of the project. Exterior renderings show the relationship between the building and the outdoor seating areas, while interior renderings focus on the open gathering spaces, curved forms, natural lighting, and central tree feature.

Additional aerial and street-level perspectives were used to better communicate the overall shape and scale of the building. Together, the renderings provide a more immersive understanding of the environment and help visualize how the restaurant would function as a welcoming and community-oriented space.

To further develop the project, I began constructing a physical model alongside the digital model. However, rather than creating a traditional exterior-only model, I wanted the model itself to communicate the spatial experience of the building more clearly. Because of this, I chose to create a sectional cut model.

The building was carefully divided into two separate sections that can be joined together to form the complete structure. This approach allows viewers to see both the exterior form and the interior spatial relationships at the same time. The sectional cut exposes important architectural features such as the circulation, seating arrangements, central dome structure, and vertical connection between the two floors.

The construction process required careful planning to ensure the model remained structurally stable while still exposing the interior spaces clearly. Foam core was used to create the floor plates, while thick card stock was used for the walls and structural surfaces. Transparent sheets were incorporated to represent glass walls and railings, helping preserve the openness that is central to the project’s design concept.

Additional details such as furniture, supports, vegetation, and interior elements were also added to strengthen realism and better communicate the atmosphere of the restaurant. Some furniture pieces were 3D printed, while materials such as wood, foam, and moss were used to create the tree and natural elements within the space.

Building the physical model became one of the most important parts of the design process because it allowed me to better understand the spatial qualities of the project in a tangible way. It also helped reinforce the relationship between the architectural concept and the overall user experience.

Designing Cove Dining allowed me to explore how architecture can support emotional wellbeing through everyday experiences rather than only traditional healing environments.

This project challenged me to think beyond functionality and focus more deeply on atmosphere, circulation, human interaction, and emotional comfort. Through both digital and physical modeling, I gained a stronger understanding of how architectural design can influence the way people connect, gather, and experience space together.

Ultimately, Cove Dining became more than a restaurant concept. It became an exploration of how community, comfort, and shared experiences can be translated into architecture.