Boon Goldsmith Bhaskar Brebner Team Architecture
Project Location:
New Plymouth
Categories:
Commercial Architectural Excellence, Interior Fit Out
Project Description:
A Wine Bar with a point of difference. Slightly understated, a place that would appeal to the wine connoisseurs of the province. The style had to be in keeping with shadowy years of the cigar, mahogany and wine drinking culture of Chicago in the 1930’s. The intimate fit out uses extensive stained Pinus Radiata plywood linings seamlessly on the walls and ceiling to create an illusion of space within narrow confines. The darkened plywood is decorated with cut-outs of wineglass shapes some bleeding light through and others simply routed into the top layers of the ply.
This darkened veneer feel merges well with the interesting mix of the period style of timber furniture whilst maintaining a contemporary space. The design attempts to celebrate the process of drinking wine. It allows the punter to watch as he places his order and the barperson enters the strategically placed red and white glass capsules to carefully choose their bottle and pours out their as their favourite tipple. This subtle drama unfolds each time an order is placed. The design deliberately avoided any hanging lights or features and relies on diffused lighting through wineglass shaped laser cut-outs across the ceiling and walls of the bar. The restrictions of the site and the limitations of the heritage building meant that clever planning was needed to balance space on both sides of the counter.