078 PROJECT / BUDDHA BAR , KNIGHTSBRIDGE, LONDON, UK
A Buddha appears to float amid the sumptuously appointed dining room, a spectacle highlighted by adjustable halogen spotlights. The front of the bar itself has been lit with low glare RGB
inground fittings. RGB LED tape has been placed within the glass shelving at the back of the bar, while warm white LED tape is located within the illuminated bottle step.
Buddha Bar has continued to grow as a brand since businessman and bon vivant, Raymond Visan, founded the gilt watering hole in Paris in 1996. Located in the exclu- sive 8th arrondissement, the original Bud- dha Bar is found on the chic Ru du Faubourg Saint-Honore and still attracts a particularly fashionable crowd of musos, who flock to Buddha to hear the bar’s unique soundtrack of carefully picked tracks from the Orient, rare tracks picked by some of the best DJs in the world.
The Buddha Bar concept was created to be more like a lifestyle than a one-off experience. A hedonistic mix of design, food, music and light, produced in an envi- ronment that radiates a colonial, baroque and East-meets-West style, the look and feel inspired by Visan’s natural wanderlust and his visits to old Asian temples and the estates of Portuguese conquistadors. The reach of the brand has expanded in recent years and today Buddha Bar can be found in fashionable hotspots around the globe, from Monte Carlo, to Dubai to
Jakarta. The London incarnation, which opened in late 2012 in Knightsbridge, host- ed the pre-Brit Awards party in February, and shows every sign of keeping up the hedonistic tradition inaugurated by its elder brothers.
Into were appointed as lighting consultants to realise the client’s vision for a theatri- cal, dynamic and playful lighting scheme. The venue is comprised of a reception area, two floors of restaurants, a bar area and several private dining areas. The lighting was to evolve throughout the day and night to enhance the function of each space whilst creating a ‘wow’ factor from initial arrival onwards.
The purpose of the lighting design was to enhance the plush, high quality material and finishes of the interiors designed by Tibbatts Abel, along with creatively illu- minating large scale bespoke installations designed specifically for the venue. One being a large Buddha moulded from mesh metal by artist David Begbie and another being two 6.5 metre crystal dragons within
each of the stair voids.
All elements of the lighting scheme needed to be subtlety and carefully controlled to ensure an exclusive and intimate feel to the venue was maintained. The lighting needed to provide flexibility to change the illumi- nation depending on the function within each of the spaces.
On entering the venue the reception area is located within a double height space with its main feature being a bespoke bamboo ceiling forming the logo of the venue. To create visual impact and drama as soon as you enter the venue this was illuminated using RGBW LED projectors mounted on drop rods with adjustable low glare halogen spotlights, again rod mounted, providing the key accent illumination to the recep- tion desk and circulation area. Concealed warm white LED tape was used within the wall joinery to highlight the products on display, while warm white low glare LED in- ground uplights illuminate the large feature archway that leads into the main restaurant area.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164