Yarinda Bunnag of Hypothesis explains how the Thai design agency reused elements including scaffolding and tree roots to transform an abandoned warehouse into a Bangkok restaurant.

Vivarium is an Asian-fusion restaurant in Bangkok, Thailand, which won the Bars and Restaurants category at Inside Festival last year.

Situated in a former industrial storage warehouse, Hypothesis filled the space with hanging plants and various reused elements from around the site.

"The project hinges upon two ideas," explains Hypothesis design director Bunnag in the movie, which Dezeen filmed for Inside Festival in Singapore.

"The first is the renovation of an old industrial warehouse. The second is the idea of a vivarium, of inserting nature into this very harsh, bare industrial warehouse to turn it into a place where people can enjoy eating and gathering."
Hypothesis kept most of the existing structure of the warehouse and painted new structural elements red to create a juxtaposition with the original walls.

"We kept the existing finish, which is this white painted finish," Bunnag explains. "For all of the new additions we used this red, rust-protection primer as the finish. That then became the colour of the branding of the restaurant."

Hypothesis created decorations for the restaurant by reusing objects from the site, including tree roots, branches and bits of discarded metal and glass. These are hung from the walls and ceiling, as well as disp...