Lee's Pizza — Baicai Design

Lee's Pizza

Lee's Pizza is a long-established Shenyang restaurant specializing in Chicago deep-dish pizza. Baicai was commissioned to renovate its original location, aiming to refresh the space while reinforcing the brand concept and highlighting the product.

Project Info:

Status: built, 2024
Area: 105 sqm
Client: Lee’s Pizza
Location: Shenyang
Photography: Topia Vision

Chicago deep-dish pizza originated in the 1940s and is a regional American style known for its rich, layered form. Unlike thin-crust Italian pizza, it features a thick, pie-like crust with tall edges, filled with cheese, meat, and vegetables, topped with a hearty tomato sauce—designed to satisfy the appetites of an industrial city.

We used "thickness" as the core spatial concept, expressing it through materials. Inspired by Chicago's industrial character in the era of deep-dish pizza's origin, we wove industrial elements into the design.

Brick and steel—iconic to Chicago—shape the storefront design. Movable metal panels shift the facade, while graffiti on the wall adds an American vibe and creates an interactive feature.

The renovation balances materials, colors, and textures—blending artistic paint, aged ceilings, steel, and handmade brick. The result is a space that feels both industrial and comfortably enveloping.

We aimed for an honest space—an open kitchen reveals the cooking process, while rotating glass panels paired with menu info create a dynamic, layered boundary.

The space is an extension of the product and a reflection of the owner's attitude toward it. We hope LEE'S PIZZA can engage both past and future customers with renewed depth and richness.

About

Baicai Design is a multidisciplinary design practice based in New York and Shenyang, working across architecture, interiors, exhibitions, and spatial design. Its practice spans different geographies, scales, and cultural contexts.

Founded by Kaiwen Zhao, Baicai is shaped by his interdisciplinary background in design and architecture. Zhao studied Industrial Design at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and Architecture at the Yale School of Architecture. He currently teaches in the Department of Industrial Design at RISD, and has previously taught at the University of Colorado Denver, lectured at NYU Tisch School of the Arts, and served as a guest critic at Syracuse University.

Baicai approaches space beyond the conventional boundaries of interior design, bringing together architectural and product design thinking to address spatial questions. Through different scales of intervention, we explore the relationships between space, objects, and human behavior.

New York:
540 Fulton St, Brooklyn, NY, 11201

Shenyang:
A07International Software Park, Shenyang, China

baicaidesignoffice@gmail.com

Awards

FRAME Wellness Space of the year Shortlisted
2026

Paris Design Awards Winner
2026

MUSE Design Awards Gold Winner
2026

Dezeen China Rising Firm of the Year
2025

POSITION Award China Best 100 Young Architect
2024

Guangzhou Design Week 40 Under 40
2024

AD China 100 YOUNG
2022-2024

Architizer Best Young Interior Design Firm Special Mention
2024

Forbes China 30 Under 30
2023

FRAME Small Residential of the year Shortlisted
2023

FRAME Award Best Emerging Designer Nominee
2023

APIDA Design Award Excellence Award
2023

FRAME Pop-up Store of the Year
2022

FRAME Window Display of the Year Shortlisted
2022

WYDF TOP 100 Designer
2022

Dezeen Award Shortlisted
2022

Architecture Masterprize Best of The Bests
2022

AD China 100 YOUNG
2020-2022

Architecture Masterprize Honorable Mention
2022

KUKAN Design Award Shortlisted
2022

DNA Award Winner in Workplace Design
2022

DNA Award Honorable Mention in Workplace Design
2022

DNA Award Honorable Mention in Showroom Design
2022

K-Design Award Winner
2022

Novum Design Award Gold Award
2022

Novum Design Award Silver Award
2022

IDA Design Award Honorable Mention
2022

FRAME Best of the Month
2022 April

Design for Asia Award Bronx Award
2021

Design for Asia Award Excellence Award
2021

IDEA Design Award Finalist
2021

Golden Pin Design Award Winner
2021

Golden Pin Design Award Honorable Mention
2022

Press

Baicai Design’s work has received international media coverage across architecture, design, fashion, and culture. The studio has been featured in publications including Gestalten, INTERIORS, AD China, FRAME, Interior Design China, My Home, and id+c, alongside leading global platforms such as Dezeen, Leibal, Architizer, Divisare, Vogue, ELLE China, Yatzer, Cosmopolitan, gooood, Archilovers, Designverse, and Archello.