Design studio Golem has accomplished a subterranean cocktail bar in central London that includes a shiny counter and tactile cubicles totally lined in gentle pink velvet.
Occupying the basement ranges of a constructing in Marylebone, Dive options furnishings and supplies that adapt to totally different eventualities and have a good time indicators of use.
“Dive’s expertise is an ongoing negotiation between the design and its friends,” defined Golem founder Ariel André. “The bar just isn’t completed at opening, it’s completed nightly, by palms, sneakers, spills.”
“Put on and tear is a part of the structure,” he added. “Shiny surfaces are designed to take scratches from glasses and jewelry, velvety partitions and flooring are supposed to retain the imprint of our bodies.”
Dive’s proprietor selected to divide the venue into two distinct zones: a luminous bar space close to the doorway and a darker, extra intimate lounge reached by descending a brief flight of steps.
Clear traces and sculptural kinds outline the bar, which contains a curved cutout alongside its entrance. Convex mirrors and surfaces rendered in easy, shiny finishes mirror gentle and motion all through the area.
“The palette and shimmering gentle are calibrated for a transitional really feel, someplace between nightfall and daybreak: heat sufficient to flatter pores and skin tones, restrained sufficient to go away the shimmering cocktails in focus,” André defined.
A darkish hall results in the steps that descend into the richer, extra tactile lounge area. This space was designed to facilitate moments of interplay between friends, whereas additionally providing cosy corners for personal conversations.
Structural arches supporting the road above comprise versatile seating areas that may be configured to go well with varied social eventualities. Constructed-in benches lining the niches are lined with unfastened cushions that may be repositioned as required.
“The upholstery is conceived to be appropriated by friends,” André identified. “Our bodies form the furnishings, not the opposite manner round.”
“When unoccupied, the seating nonetheless carries the imprint of earlier friends, holding the night in a suspended time and area.”
One of many arches referred to as the “enjoyable room” is roofed from flooring to ceiling in lush carpet, permitting its U-shaped structure for use for something from lounging to dancing.
Golem created quart-de-lune tables specifically for the venture, which can be utilized individually by {couples} sitting facet by facet, or mixed in units of two or 4 to comfortably seat as much as eight friends.
The lounge additionally capabilities as a listening room, with the selection of absorbent and reflective surfaces serving to to create a tailor-made acoustic atmosphere.
A devoted DJ sales space is positioned subsequent to bespoke cabinets housing the proprietor’s in depth vinyl assortment. The blending desk is peak adjustable to permit for seated or standing efficiency.
On the centre of the bar, the non-gendered bogs are organized round a banquette the place friends can sit and chat. A one-way mirror conceals this area from the skin whereas offering a glimpse again into the lounge.
André based his Paris-based studio in 2021, working throughout the worlds of structure, artwork and design. Earlier Golem tasks embody a modular furnishings system product of lots of of squishy balls, which was used to create a dialog pit in a Brussels condo.
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