Tedrow Design Group provided architectural design services for Cuevacía, a two-level fine-dining restaurant at Colony Square in Midtown Atlanta. The project transformed a former single-story sushi restaurant into a larger dining destination within the limits of the existing building.

A new mezzanine provided the additional seating the client needed, but it also created strict height limitations, code-required clearances, and difficult mechanical coordination. Instead of treating the compressed space below as leftover area, the design transformed it into a series of intimate cave dining rooms inspired by the caves of Oaxaca, Mexico.

Arched openings, recessed niches, stucco and stone finishes, oversized wood doors, and concealed lighting carry the idea throughout the restaurant. What began as the project’s greatest constraint became its defining architectural experience.