INTERIOR DESIGN

THE AMSTEL LOUNGE PROJECT

Designers capture the Amstel brand in the finishes and colours into interior fittings in taverns.

The most challenging part of the brief from the client was to create an interior that could fit into, pretty much, any space,” says Jill Munger, Design and Marketing Director of Time & Space Design Consultants who took on the challenge to create interior design for winning taverns in the Amstel Lounge Project. Explaining the idea behind the Amstel Lounge Project, Munger said: “we were required to capture the Amstel Lager brand in the finishes and colours as well as the look and feel of the space, in the style of the furniture and fittings. In other words, we needed to translate the Amstel Lager brand into an interior”. We were required to create a concept, which would also be able to fit into an existing interior within a certain amount of time, so that each tavern could also continue operating during the installation. We opted for modular furniture which didn’t limit us to a certain space.

Design Presentation

To make things easier when arriving at our unknown sites, we divided the design into various areas: lounge; booth; dance floor; bar and exterior area. That way we could adapt the design into any space, whichever best suited. With the overall project having four venues, with 270 initial participants and limited time to construct on site, we had to be prepared to jump into action when the winners were announced.

We were required to present to various parties which included the Brand agency (our client), the brand distributors and the tavern owners with the presence of the regional brand sales representatives. Once the agency approved the design, after tweaking and brainstorming some additional branding elements, we presented to the brand distributors. The distributors had the final say and once they approved the design, it was full steam ahead.Once the finalists were announced, we surveyed each outlet and presented the conceptual proposal to the tavern owners. With us having the various options available, each tavern owner could select an area, within their establishment, for revamp.

Product Sourcing

sourced locally in an effort to minimize lead times so that the installations could be completed as quickly as possible. We specified hard wearing materials suitable for tavern environments and created surfaces that can withstand a beating over a long period of time. The Amstel Lager brand requirements were, also, a deciding factor in our choice of finishes, in the colours and textures as well as style of furniture.

Design Detailing

When it came down to the finer detailing we added brand elements to create interest as well as add more marketing presence into the interior. The Amstel Lager brand elements are subtle but visible throughout the space. The Amstel bottle shape is unique and the silhouette of the bottle was used in several design elements and incorporated throughout. Many custom made and design elements were created especially for the Amstel Lounge. Custom made Amstel bottle chandeliers were created as feature lighting, but had the labels removed to be more subtle with the branding. The ‘twirl’ pendant was designed and custom made for the Amstel Lounge. Colouring was based on the colours of the Amstel label and was communicated in various creative ways such the strips of colour that appear on the bar front, decorative wallpaper and outdoor branding elements. Gold detailing, taken from the Amstel bottle cap, was introduced to the VIP bar front, foot rails and other detailing.A mosaic art wall was added which portrayed an image of the Amstel bottle. We also created an Amstel bottle light box which incorporated neon rope lighting which tailed off and formed the Amstel logo at the end of the trail.

We created an exterior Amstel Lager branded wall, with bright floor mounted spotlights that highlighted the feature. The design itself was not restrained and made quite a statement, but the branding was subtle in the sense that the Amstel colours were incorporated and the slogan, but not the logo itself.

Signage plays an important part and new light box signage, incorporating the Amstel Lounge and the tavern’s name, was installed to the front façade of the buildings.

Time & Space Design Consultant can be contacted on 086 111 8463 or www.time-space.co.za