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
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 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
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.
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
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
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
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.
The trend for alfresco dining has gone one step
further with the alfresco bar and nightclub. Vodka brand Smirnoff was
the first to kick off the trend with its amazing inflate-portable bar/club. This go anywhere comfort zone is comprised by a number of inflatable cubes to create theoverall effectt
of a portable bar/chill out zone. The design brief was simple, create a
cool image. Nothing cooler than ice is there? It's not all aesthetics
however, the design must be wind resistant, water proof and with hold a
large number of occupants. It's translucent appearance, invites
the creativity of light shows to radiate through the bar at night. For
the funkiest bar on the go, just add ice!
If you're not on Smirnoff's touring list get to Berlin instead where the new open air club Kubik is sending local temperatures skywards.
Located
near Berlin's river Spree, Kubik's modular design literally glows in
the dark, with dozens of conventional 1000-litre water tanks used
to create a temporary installation. On the weekends the tanks double as
glowing DJ booths, filled with some of Europe's best record spinners on
a mission to keep clubbers firmly on the alfresco dance floor.
Thanks to our friends at Designspotter for spotting this. by Billy T
Traditionally reserved for drug deals and
kidnapping plots, the old lane way is being looked at in a whole new
light thanks to the folks at the St Jerome's Laneway Festival
in Australia. The concept is as simple as it is cool. Find a great lane
way, spread the word and hold a party. Boutique laneway parties have
become the venue de jour as they are temporary and provide a fresh
approach to outdoor parties.
Equally as popular are the Silent Disco
parties. Originally developed in the Netherlands, the concept involves
a DJ, numerous sets of wireless headphones and a huge number of people
who are not afraid to look stupid. The concept is very unique and
pretty funky, however if you happen to not be wearing a headset, you
may think someone spiked your drink as you witness a lot of dancing and
no music. The DJs tunes are broadcast on a particular frequency that
only the party goers headsets can pick up. The company known as
433fm.com, came up with the concept in 2002 and say the aim is for
people "to go off in silence".
If you slept in during Whams 'wake me up before you go go' neon phase, then Neon Disco
(pictured above) in Canada will give you the glo-fix you've been
looking for. Neon is the clubbing brain child of four friends who
had grown tired of the same old styles and approach that clubs had to
offer. Eliminating the standard issue club furnishings, such as
smoke machines and lasers, Neon ties in its interior with the music
from which it is best known for. Housing a great line up of D.J's
and live bands, the clubs future is as bright as the neon lights it
emits.
Cool Club Concepts is an area which will be featured in
the upcoming Cool Hunter T.V show. If you know of a new club or great
club concept, let us know. It could be an underground club that is
pushing the clubbing boundaries, or a concept that has never been
seen before. Unleash your cool hunting skills and let us know. By Billy T