Norman Bar

Situated in JW Marriott’s commercial complex, New Delhi, spanning over an area of 1500 sq.feet, Norman was borne out of the idea of creating an environment that exudes glamour, and luxury, while still holding a story. The client’s brief was to create a space that would be fitting as a niche cocktail bar, while appearing as though it’s a page out of a history book. Norman is a high-energy cocktail bar inspired by the stories of the Vikings. The Vikings who invaded France, and based themselves in Normandy, were subsumed in everything French while largely affecting the architecture during their time there. Norman is Studiio Dangg’s interpretation of the modern-day bar, and an entrancing experience, drawing inspiration from the by-gone era of Normandy’s Romanesque architecture.

Upon visiting the site, we experienced the ease with which the massive fifteen feet high ceilings complimented a very tapered plan. During the design process, we used the corners, and the asymmetry of the spatial extent to our advantage, such that the fit-out of the main seating area 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. All across the space, the deep blue moulds, and sets the tone for the experience laid out for a patron. At the point of entrance at the drop-off, the façade invites one in 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.

Carrying the palette forth, the entrance lobby softens the palette with a rich fur fabric across the branding wall that greets everyone, as a more modern take on the fox furs the Vikings used to don during winters.

The entrance lobby serves as a common passage of the main entrance, and the service entrance, making the most of a finite floor plate available to play with. Walking through a brass rimmed door, the exaggeration in the height along with an inward-looking space screams opulence, commanding the attention of everyone towards the first focal point in the space – the bar. Lounge seating lined along the walls, from every angle, captures a view of the bar. The central area populated with high table seating creates the perfect spot for one to be able to turn, and enjoy every span of the space.

The ridge like form on the walls ridges depicts the ebbs, and flows of a Viking castle tucked into a mountain is represented through the asymmetrically yet perpetually curving wall panelling 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 with the seating, and continuing along the bar, as well, creating an endless interaction of people with the reflection. Abutting the mirrored ceiling, a pair of mouldings is scattered in a rigid grid across the entirety of the ceiling. These mouldings are then broken again with a shallow dome in the centre, housing a screen, accommodating the modernity of a high-energy bar. This introduces the second focal point in the space as the ceiling grabbing one’s attention. The mouldings are a modern take on, and are reminiscent of the Frieze detailing found typically in Normandy’s cathedrals. The backlighting of the mouldings detaches it from the actual ceiling surface, making it appear suspended in air, consistently creating an allure which one can’t help but pay attention to. Inspired by the Northern Lights, the backlighting is controlled through a matrix programming that creates a play of colour, and movement, creating a mesmeric moment as one looks up.

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. The skewed, tall arches embellished with a grainy texture paint in a snowy palette perfectly contours the rugged mountains, and the Arctic seas of the North across the entire space. The arches are softened with deep blue velvety curtains, adding the warmth to the pallidity of the arches.

Sitting snug between two columns embellished in fabric & brass detailing, the bar is a proud moment unto itself. Introducing yet another arched form with more rectilinear proportions, the back wall arches hold the heavy mouldings as it frames the bar back. The mouldings frame within a wall of glass bricks, laid atop a surface of brass sheet, creating a warm glow as the light hits it, as if watching a sunrise. 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. This aligns perfectly from outdoor to indoor, from the point one experiences the façade till the time they are seated indoors. The bar front is elevated from the floor with a high brass skirting, making it appear floating through the uplighting from a gutter detail in the floor.

Drawing one further into the space, a typical arch introduces a corridor leading to the washrooms. The washrooms albeit limited in scale, attracts one inside by the sheer luxe it portrays through the leather panelling, and the softness it induces.

The brass tables, and the soft hues in velvets spatter the furniture pieces. The rust, and the beige tones are inspired by the bright hues the Viking would dye their clothes in. The dense textured fabrics imitate the wools, and furs they donned across centuries.

Norman as an experience is heavily guided by subtle elements that are stretched across a space, weaving a singular emotion in multiple places. As the city houses a wide array and themes of cocktail and high-energy bars, Norman brings along an encounter with history that is immersive, and seduces one to physically interact with the space.

Design: Studiio Dangg
Photography: Jeetin Sharma