Ambient lighting brings heat to a pared-back inside scheme contained in the Bar Ton listening bar in Bucharest, Romania, created by native designers Anda Zota and Muromuro Studio.
Set on the bottom ground of a communist-era condo block in Bucharest, the area beforehand functioned as a music store earlier than being tailored right into a hi-fi bar.
Bar Ton‘s inside was supposed to be a up to date reinterpretation of the constructing’s socialist-modernist type, mixing its historic context with up-to-date performance.
“We needed to pay homage to the constructing itself,” mentioned Muromuro Studio.
“It was the primary socialist-modernist constructing from the communist period that originated in Bucharest and never Moscow, so when it was constructed it was a landmark of Romanian modernism,” the studio continued.
“We tried to maintain as a lot of the constructing as structurally intact as attainable – we saved the flooring and the pillars, plus you have got the unique facade and finishings.”
Materiality was a key focus of the design, with coarse, textured components comparable to uncooked concrete partitions and marble mosaic flooring contrasted towards extra refined finishes just like the polished chrome steel bar and birch plywood detailing.
The mix of supplies culminates in a minimalist, utilitarian area, that goals to additionally “evoke a way of heat and ease”.
Whereas the constructing’s facade partitions could not be altered, a folding, mechanical glass wall with steel framing was added.
This animated function was designed to augment the connection between the within and outdoors, encouraging interplay with the encompassing neighbourhood.
“It grew to become the ‘dwelling facade’ as a result of everytime you cross by you see folks sitting on the bench and transferring round – it is the primary layer of curiosity and makes you wish to see what’s inside” Zota informed Dezeen.
Restrictions brought on by current structural options influenced the inside structure, with 4 gigantic concrete pillars extending by way of the centre of the area, in addition to a concrete air flow shaft for the ground under left in place.
The designers coated two of the concrete pillars with polyurethane with a timber unit added between them to carry the primary DJ sales space.
The opposite two had been lined with oiled birch plywood and fitted with pockets to show information. In the meantime, the concrete air flow shaft was changed into a bench.
In any other case, Bar Ton was designed to be a largely open-plan area, with the music program positioned at its centre and options such because the chrome steel bar and bogs situated across the periphery.
“The purpose was to create an area that provides a communal listening expertise,” mentioned Muromuro Studio. “This resulted in us placing the music sales space proper on the centre of the area – in order that persons are round the focal point.”
“The overarching idea was about placing the music on the centre each bodily and conceptually,” added Zota.
In response to the designers, particular consideration was paid to the lighting design, which was developed in collaboration with Romanian model Greentek Lighting.
The adaptive lighting system has two totally different settings for day and night time that may be adjusted to swimsuit the temper. A custom-made lamp illuminates the central music program, lit in an orange hue at night time.
Zota defined that the intention was to create an inviting ambiance that prioritises the listening expertise, with lighting tailor-made to light up the area itself slightly than immediately illuminating the folks inside it.
“We needed folks to have the ability to conceal and really feel out of focus to intimately expertise the area with out being highlighted,” mentioned Zota.
Gigantic beige drapes discreetly conceal the bar’s acoustic methods, with a “room-within-a-room” constructed utilizing a picket body. This acoustic panelling serves to cut back the potential echo and guarantee a excessive sound high quality, with round 37 cubic metres of sound insulation included in complete.
Constructed-in picket banquette seating wraps across the perimeter of the area, full with built-in picket tables.
Different listening bars lately featured on Dezeen embrace a lounge-like hi-fi bar in London by EBBA and Charlotte Taylor and a monochrome pink bar in Sydney by Akin Atelier designed to really feel like being “inside an enormous speaker”.
