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| Fri 05 Dec 2008 |
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Tag: Bars
These items have all been tagged with the tag "Bars", You can see other tags in the Tag Cloud| Paramount Bar by Tom Dixon (London) |
| 2008-10-29 10:13:41 |
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Renowned English interior designer Tom Dixon is behind Paramount, London's hottest new venue located on top of city landmark Centre Point tower. The bar's aesthetic is a blend 60s retro and futurism, articulated through the use of hard-edged materials like concrete and stone to create a kind of space-ship meets super-club. The star of course, is the spectacular view, which is only enhanced by Dixon's clean, modern interior. Anyone hoping to pay a visit to Paramount better get to work on their "applications" for membership, a process which, rather frightfully, mirrors a job application. Aspiring members must be "assed" by a panel including English actor Stephen Fry. We're not generally fans of such pretense but thanks to Dixon, it looks like all of the hoopla may actually be worth it. Start typing. - Lisa Evans |
| Vendome Mayfair - London |
| 2008-09-25 07:06:29 |
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Following their success in London's Knightsbridge, the Vendome team has done it all again by opening a sister venue in swanky Mayfair. Fed up with the minimalist design aesthetic that many a upscale West End venue has adopted over the past decade, club guru Freddie Frampton and interior designer Paul Daly got together to see what they could do to fix all this. And fixed it they have. The club is beautifully finished and has been designed to induce patrons back onto the dance floor. And why wouldn't you want to dance when the club has installed possibly one of the coolest dance floors that we have seen in a while. The circular interactive video floor cost over a quarter of a million pounds and can display film footage, graphic effects, logos etc. It is topped off with a raised, revolving DJ booth/bar in the centre. Think 70s disco floor meets the future. Off to the left of the floor are six individually themed VIP booths, each having being designed by the likes of Jade Jagger, fashion label Core and Dom Perignon. The club has a distinct retro/futuristic feel, part mirror maze, part Xanadu, part upper-class Jetsons space shuttle, and is sure to be a hit with London's glamorous Mayfair set (read socialites, WAGs and the occasional reality-TV star). So, head on down for a 'molecularly mixed' drink – if only to check out the dance floor. Just mind you don't rest your drink on that darn revolving bar… you may never see it again. We learnt this the hard way. - Brendan McKnight |
| China Doll Club - Beijing |
| 2008-07-23 11:34:16 |
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Clubbers and night cats in Beijing not only shake their booties to the hottest beats at the new ChinaDoll club, they are also surrounded by work from some of China's best contemporary artists. Founded by award-winning Chinese actress/producer Ai Wan and club designer Wu Ying, ChinaDoll was conceived and designed via their studio E.P.I.C. Design where the original club first opened in Beijing at the end of 2006. Relocated now to the main strip in Sanlitun, the new club is prominently located on the top floor of the '3.3' plaza building. The good news for party-goers is that this venue is three times bigger, comprising a lounge, dancefloor and eight VIP rooms. With their motto The Art of Play', the interior of ChinaDoll takes art out of the gallery and into the club. The overall theme of the interior revolves around 'The Kiss' with passion and sensuality taking centre stage. The work of six contemporary chinese artists is integrated into the interior, custom made installations and furniture, depicting for example sexy female forms, Chinese dolls or modern Chinese love lives. A glossy backdrop of lightboxes adorned with abstracted fashion photography references the brush strokes and vivid colours of chinese water colours. When illuminated, it creates an electric atmosphere making ChinaDoll a lolly shop for the eyes and an amusement park for the senses. - Jeanne Tan Seen a new club/bar we should know about? Then get in contact with us |
| Blue Frog Lounge - Mumbai |
| 2008-03-12 07:45:34 |
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Everybody is going crazy about Mumbai's Blue Frog, opened earlier this year. It's a 1,000-square-meter complex that includes a club, restaurant, lounge, sound stage, recording studio and sound lab, all encased within the massive walls of an old warehouse in Mumbai's mill district. The Blue Frog Club interior may remind you of those delirious nights at the end-of-summer Exhibition with its midway games, roller coasters and dizzy-making rides. Or you may suddenly start channeling Queen Amidala, addressing the StarWarsian Senate from her floating pod. Luckily, Blue Frog does its dizzying job in a way that is totally stylish - not a tacky thing or overdone costume in sight. And everyone's table is definitely on level ground, although it does not appear so first. Designers Chris Lee and Kapil Gupta formerly of Chris Lee Architects and Contemporary Urban, and now of Serie (London and Mumbai) have managed to create a cohesive yet exciting space by stripping the visual cues down to a only a few very strong ones. The equilibrium-challenging effect is achieved by the clever surround-millwork that uses a circle as its main form. The mahogany-paneled millwork circles each round table, forming circular booths or pods in somewhat varying shapes at various levels, guaranteeing great sightlines for all. Not wanting to compete with the lighting or other embellishments of the stage acts, the interior is dark except for the top surface of the booths. The glowing back-lit resin surfaces tie the seating area together even when a stage show is on, and make it a bit easier to gain one's bearings in the otherwise dark space. Like seating in a Roman amphitheatre, the pods circle and rise from a stage area that can also double as standing room or dance floor in a club set-up. Acts from India and from around the world are starting to make Blue Frog Mumbai's hottest club. By Tuija Seipell |
| Bauer Channeling Bauhaus |
| 2008-02-29 11:01:47 |
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Bauer is the newest chic bar and eatery in Södermalm — “Stockholm’s Soho.” Opened on February 28, 2008, Bauer is a refurbished neighborhood watering hole on Götgatan’s northern end, an edgy-stylish area constantly changing and looking for a new form. Suitably, the job of designing Bauer was handed to Stockholm-based Dizel&Sate, known for aptly fusing street-art subculture with upscale style for retail and hospitality clients, including Hotel Birger Jarl, and stores for H&M, Hugo Boss and Peak Performance. Bold walls are their signature feature. For Bauer, they took inspiration from the Bauhaus style and from Berlin’s bar and gallery culture. Bold, graphic images depicting various forms of enjoyment achieve a casual and fun feel while punching up the black-and-white space and furnishings. By Tuija Seipell Random archive Creative Events Zoop Car Waterworld China Karaoke World |
| Framebar - Athens |
| 2008-02-26 07:01:49 |
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Framebar is a refreshing and stylish gathering place in history-rich Athens. It is located in the St. George Lycabettus Boutique Hotel, in the chic Kolonaki quarter. The most striking of the bar’s many redeeming qualities is the furniture. It does not really look like furniture. It is not an end result of a rule-restricted manufacturing process, but more like a time-warp, a fluid process temporarily halted. It gives you permission to sit, although it also appears like it could morph into something else any time. Architect Dimitris Tsigos calls this a rearticulation of typical furniture using continuous geometries and heat-formed starron (corrian equivalent) and the Spanish marble emperador. The cuisine is fresh and healthy, and the DJs and fabulous lighting make this a cool night spot. By Tuija Seipell. |
| Electric Birdcage - London |
| 2008-01-15 06:39:34 |
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Opened in late fall 2007, Electric Birdcage at Haymarket in the heart of London’s West End, has been receiving mixed reviews. One thing is certain, though, it IS getting a reaction from everyone who visits. Electric Birdcage is a magnificently weird combination of Alice in Wonderland and Russian Aristocrat, dim sum parlor and late-night cocktail bar, sophisticated party venue and silly funhouse. The owners, brothers Richard and Anthony Traviss, knew where to go for eccentric and totally extravagant interiors: to London’s beloved venue designer Shaun Clarkson. His handiwork can be seen, for example, at La Pigalle, Covent Garden's Denim, Play Room, Profile, Power's Acoustic Room, The Bloomsbury Ballroom, Atlantic Bar & Grill and Jerusalem. Electric Birdcage’s surrealistic interior includes a Fibonacci-style patterned floor, tables made of tree roots, gigantic pink hands for chairs, lavish Vegas-style mirrors, imposing black stallions, two snarling black polymer panthers, a carousel bar and iron birdcage chandeliers dangling from a pink ceiling. Even the DJ operates from a birdcage. Capacity crowd of 300, served by cute staff in retro airline get-up, can order Pan-Asian fare by head chef Somporn Khamsaenphan all day, and stay until 4 am enjoying cocktails by mixologist Chad Shields. You and seven friends can share the signature Electric Birdcage bowl filled with a mix of champagne, Absolut Raspberri peach schnapps, Cointreau, Absolut Citron, strawberry puree, gomme syrup, orange juice, fresh raspberries and blueberries. That should elicit a reaction, if nothing else will. By Tuija Seipell |
| Dennis Simachev - From Moscow With PlayStation |
| 2007-11-15 05:32:44 |
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The in-crowd in Moscow knows Denis Simachev. The only place to buy his Special edition PlayStation 3, his just-launched sunglass line, his special Ducati motorcycles, his snowboards or hand-made shoes is Simachev’s one and only store at 12 Stoleshnikov Pereulok. The recently unveiled flagship is a hybrid of a store, bar, restaurant and art space. In addition to rare special-edition items, it showcases Simachev’s true Russian, irreverent fashions, jewellery (both for men and women) and furs in an authentic-mixed-with–surrealism environment. The Englishman and New Zealander in the kitchen cook up everything from panini sandwiches to Kamchatkan crab, and absolutely nothing flows out of those golden faucets. The bar is well-stocked, though, and the prices reasonable. Simachev is a Muscovite born in 1974 and a graduate of the Kosygin textile academy. He is a veteran of Milan and London runways and his brand is sold around the world. But for that PlayStation, you need to head to Moscow now. By Tuija Seipell |
| T-O 12, Stuttgart |
| 2007-07-03 19:00:00 |
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T-O 12 is a new nightclub on Stuttgart’s notorious “party mile,” Theodor Heuss-Strasse. Like the street, the club is also named after the late Theodor Heuss, a fun-loving, dashing man and the first person elected for a full term as the President of the Federal Republic of Germany. Clubbers call the joint either Theo (T O sounds just like Theo in German) or Theo Zwölf (=Theo 12 in German). To create the three-story club, the owners hired two Stuttgart-based firms: Architecture and communications firm Ippolito Fleiz Group, and graphic designers i-d buero. The result is a sleekly mysterious, pitch-dark space with white furnishings and massive black-and-white murals. The all-black walls, ceilings and floors together with the huge mirrors and tiny light spots produce an effect that is vertigo–inducing and fun. Theo would approve. By Tuija Seipell |
| Private Karaoke Clubs |
| 2007-06-19 09:25:51 |
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Yes, we all saw Lost In Translation and thought, ‘hang on a minute, if Bill Murray can seduce Scarlett Johansson by singing ‘More Than This’ then maybe we could too!’ Let’s face it, karaoke has always been the butt of bad movies, and its reputation is currently languishing somewhere between Japanese businessmen necking methylated spirit and hen parties ‘cutting loose’. But recently, it has started to reclaim its cult status from half-tanked brides-to-be, and become a little bit more palatable. This new karaoke bar has been quietly, or rather, loudly, winning acclaim for its alternative approach to the nation’s favourite pastime. Rather than the dark booths of your standard karaoke club, this new private members’ sing-along has incorporated young artists to help liven up the interior. Think Manga cartoons but with a Lichtenstein edge. Each booth has its own distinctive decor, and every surface has a graphic to reflect the spaces they fill. Which is a far cry from the matted walls and vinyl floors some bars choose. And most of all, it’s members only, so there’s no need to worry about being harassed by a woman with oversized fairy wings stuck to her back. By Matt Hussey. |
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