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Architects: Studiio Dangg
- Area: 1500 ft²
- Year: 2024
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Photographs:Jeetin Sharma
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Manufacturers: Atmos One, Beyond Dreams, Locally Procured, Seasons, Ultratech Texture Paint
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Lead Architect: Akanksha Sharma
Text description provided by the architects. Inspired by the bygone era of Normandy's Romanesque architecture, Norman is Studiio Dangg's interpretation of the modern-day bar, allowing for an entrancing experience. Norman is predominated through elements that subtly, but entrancingly capture light on their mildly reflective surfaces, weaving the theme of capturing oneself as a moving element. This aligns perfectly from outdoor to indoor, from the point one experiences the façade till the time they are seated indoors.
The massive fifteen feet high ceilings compliment a very tapered plan. The corners and asymmetry of the spatial extent were used such that the fit-out was turned inwards in order to construct an encounter where every seat would get a view of the bar. Mimicking the polar night, the deep blue palette injects the intimacy that dictates the atmosphere of the space. At the entrance, the façade is inviting with its reflective, chrome-plated fins, laid across the exterior in a parametric fashion. This allows for every movement to be captured, and thrown back as a distorted reflection, akin to the glimmer of light caught in the deep blue seas of the Northern Hemisphere that the Vikings were historically known to traverse.
The ridge-like form on the ridges of the wall depicts the ebbs, and flows of a Viking castle tucked into a mountain is represented through the asymmetrically curving wall paneling that is yet again a deep blue in a satiny finish, creating a contrast of a much softer perception of a wall that feels as if it is unceasingly moving along with you. This is enhanced by the mirrors on the ceiling organically flowing along the walls, creating an endless interaction with the reflection. Abutting it, a grid of moldings is scattered across the ceiling, which are then broken with a shallow dome in the center, housing a screen, and accommodating the modernity of a high-energy bar. This introduces the second focal point in the space.
The moldings are a modern take on and are reminiscent of the Frieze detailing found typically in Normandy's cathedrals. The backlighting of the moldings detaches it from the actual ceiling surface, making it appear suspended in air, consistently creating an allure that one can't help but pay attention to. The varied forms of arches pay homage to the Norman arches that largely affected Romanesque architecture. Between the arches sits the DJ console, creating yet another focal point for the patron's attention to oscillate across the space – almost compelling them to take in every corner with every gesture.
Introducing yet another arched form with more rectilinear proportions, heavy moldings frame the bar back. It is a wall of glass bricks laid atop a surface of brass sheet, creating a warm glow as the light hits it, akin to light playing on water. The undulation in the glass bricks injects yet another surface that subtly but entrancingly captures movement on its mildly reflective surface, continuing the theme of constantly capturing oneself as a moving element in the space. The bar front is elevated from the floor with a high brass skirting, making it appear floating. Norman as an experience is heavily guided by subtle elements that are stretched across space, weaving a singular emotion in multiple places
