The client for this project came to me with a site and a name, The Ship. What ensued was a dramatic spatial change that took a long, low ceiling ground floor space with a dark basement, into a hip industrial bar with high ceilings. Occupancy and egress requirements for the space limited the allowable ‘public’ area within the bar. Instead of having excess back of house, we removed about a third of the ground floor.
The subtly marked entry at the street leads to a non-descript long, low corridor at the end of which unfolds a dramatic double height space that one descends down to. The bar’s name is alluded to in the materiality and design, but in a modern way, with riveted aged zinc wall panels, custom booths upholstered with reclaimed patchwork sailcloth, and a dynamic lighting installation of inverted antique ship ventilation shafts. The bar utilizes many other found objects such as the common washbasin, antique doors and custom fabricated mirrors in the bathroom. Both the stair treads and window frames were made from the floor joists that were removed to open up the space.
All photos © Sam Oberter Photography
