Aura Bar Koktail by Kacper Gronkiewicz is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2020 A' Design Award Wesi in Desain Ruang Njero lan Pameran Competition Category.

WesiNjero Griya· 2020

Aura Bar Koktail

by Kacper Gronkiewicz

Client: Kacper Gronkiewicz

A' Design Award Wesi Winner in Njero Griya Category

11,174

Verified Award Winner

Verify Award Status for #93021

Visit Site View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

Colors

The Design

About Aura Bar Koktail

Aura minangka bar koktail sing manggon ing lantai dhasar bangunan abad kaping sangalas ing tengah kutha Warsawa. Interiore nyakup 25 meter persegi, lan ruang utamane dhuwure 4,8 meter. Kuningan sing dipoles lan doff dikontraske karo karpet lembut kanthi motif sing dipasang ing tembok utama. Perlengkapan kuningan digunakake kanggo rak, meja dhuwur, lan lampu gantung sing lansing, dene pelat emas dipasang ing ndhuwur meja bar sing ngadeg ing dhasar marmer. Sakumpulan bolongan ing lantai nampung meja-meja gawean khusus kanthi telung dhuwur sing beda, saengga papan sing ora patio jembar iki bisa dienggo minangka kafe ing wayah awan lan bar ing wayah bengi.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award Wesi

Aura Bar Koktail menang A' Design Award Wesi, pangenalan sing prestisius sing diparingake marang desain sing apik sing nyukupi kabutuhan profesional lan industri sing dikarepake saka ciptaan sing dirancang kanthi apik. Pemenang Wesi nuduhake katrampilan sing gedhe, spesialisasi sing dhuwur, pangerten ahli lan kapasitas kreatif para penciptane. Aura Bar Koktail dikarepake dadi ciptaan sing dihargai banget, dikagumi lan ditresnani sing praktis lan inovatif. Desain sing menang A' Design Award Wesi iki nggabungake praktik industri sing paling apik lan nduweni ciri teknis sing kompeten sing disambung karo kawruh lan bakat. Aura Bar Koktail diajeni amarga ketelitiane lan dirancang kanggo nyedhiyakake paningkatan kualitas urip sing mbiyantu ndadekake donya panggonan sing luwih apik.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: Gronkiewicz contrasted polished and mat, veneered and raw brass with soft patterned carpets lining the wall. To optimise the venue's limited space a set of holes was designed in the floor for several combinations of custom made big and small tables. Bringing gold into interior, the architect installed various brass fixtures throughout the space, from the shelves to the high tables and slim lighting pendants. Golden plates are also used to top off the drinks counter, which perches on a mismatch marble base. Velvet upholstered seats and cobalt blue toilet complement the red hues of the floor and vintage barstools.
Dimensions & Packaging: Area of the premises - 25sqm, height of a main space - 4,8m. Combination of 3 small (50cm in diameter) and one large (100cm in diameter) tables are possible. The height of tables may be adjusted to high, medium and low level.
Tags: Aura, bar, cocktail, Warsaw, carpet, interior, gold, custom-made
Production Technology: Minor craft services of the area encouraged architect to use customized solutions. Arched benches were made by the craftsman next door while stone slabs cladding the bar came from a stonemason based on one of Warsaw cemeteries and are the leftovers of his commissions. Its scales cladding bar's rear wall are posed on 5 mm steel shelves - invisible yet resilient. A shabby mint green background of original nineteenth century walls was yet raised by the painter from neighbourhood. The blue walls and vaulted ceilings were finished with water resistant blue paint and instead of a wallpaper Gronkiewicz used old carpets to paste up the main wall. All this involved prototyping and none of this would be possible without local contractors.
Design Challenge: The small premises (25sqm/80sqf) implied a very careful functional layout. The bar consist of the clients' area, bartenders open and hidden working space, toilet, technical facility and a storage for beverages on the off-sight mezzanine. Designer had to adjust the set of holes in the floor according to existing 19th century layout of steel supporting beams and yet obtain ergonomic distances between fixed tables, stools and benches.
Research: Together with investors designer tried to make out how people would use the place in the daytime, evening and by night keeping in mind natural lighting conditions and the downtown location. They based on Investors curriculum from other similar places as well as the observations made in neighbourhood bar, cafe and vegan patisserie. They came up with few sets of tables dedicated to specific time of the day and provided dimmable light to transform the place from a daily cafe to a bar or even a small concert venue. Table tops not in use are hanging on the walls as decoration.
Inspiration: First inspiration came from Franz West's sofas upholstered with old carpets and exhibited in Kassel during Documenta X in 1997. This unconventional use of private second-hand objects gave a hint of cosiness to the public space. An idea appealed to the Investor who had inherited some old family carpets and this pushed architect toward Moroccan imagery - Marrakesh vibrant marketplaces and villa Majorelle Gardens. In his formal language Gronkiewicz was also largely inspired by Giorgio de Chirico paintings. The name of the bar relates to latin aurum - gold and also to a colour of bourbon based drinks served here.
Project Duration: The project was executed in Warsaw in January 2019 and rendered to public in June 2019.
Aura is set on the ground floor of a former tenement house of Jochwet Taubenhaus that was built in the 19th century in the very centre of Warsaw. It has survived German bombings during Second World War. There has been several kinds of business ran in the small corner premises on the ground level of the building since then - all left some history in the walls which Gronkiewicz wanted to evoke.
Operation Flow: Architect elaborated the unique system of tubes inserted in the floor where the custom made tables can be slotted into and set at various heights to respond to different use of the space during the day and by night. The design does not freeze the space, on the contrary, it opens it for interaction. To maximize customers space and enhance the view on the street Gronkiewicz got rid of windowsills and replaced it with upholstered benches.
Patents: Copyrights belong to Kacper Gronkiewicz
Image Credits: Photographers: Łukasz Kuś, Magda Rzeszot, 2019