ANITA LOUISE DESIGN
Anita Justins
Syncopation Bar
2020
Software and skills:
Revit
Enscape
Photoshop
SketchUp
The concept brief for an entrepreneurial bar owner was to design a socially minded CBD bar that caters for the hearing impaired, conserves energy and creates a fun, vibrant environment through the use of innovative interactive elements.
Syncopation Bar is a bar unlike any other venue where an inclusive environment has been created for all patrons to enjoy. As you enter the bar there is a bank of acoustic seating booths on your left and a bank of tiered acoustic seating booths on your right. The booths are designed to facilitate communication and socialisation among patrons. The individual upholstered booths eliminate noise, allowing conversation to flow freely, which is particularly beneficial to people who usually struggle to hear in a bar.
Ambient LED lighting beckons you into the space with targeted linear lighting providing the wayfinding and will assist those who are vision impaired to negotiate the bar and use the facilities.
Acoustic light pendants, wall panels and flooring aid to reduce harsh noise within the space, allowing instead for a low vibrant buzz. Auslan signage on the walls allows hearing and non-hearing impaired people to communicate and also facilitates an interactive element.
A popular destination in most bars is the dance floor. Syncopation Bar's dance floor doesn't disappoint. The bar is situated on a low platform which is sprung and designed to create vibrations as the patrons dance. A large kinetic light feature resembling tall tubes of liquid move in time with the vibrations from the dance floor and the dancers themselves. The silent disco creates a mesmerising vision as the dancers and light features move to their own beat. No drinks are allowed within the dance space to reduce anti-social behaviour on the dance floor.
Waste from the bar is minimised and all water and food waste is either recycled or composted. All materiality has been selected due to their environmental and sustainable footprint.