Having already successfully designed properties for this client before it was with great pleasure that Design By Uber was engaged to convert an existing bank building in the heart of the Cheshire/Greater Manchester village of Cheadle into a new concept bar and restaurant complete with roof top cocktail lounge.
The brief was a fully fledged design and construction package that involved every square inch of the property. This meant that we had to create an identity for the brand, something that would reflect the food and beverage offering, attract the right audience and portray this new brand on the block with style, sophistication and glamour in an accessible but aspirational ‘on trend’ appearance and finish.
The driving factor in all commercial projects is obviously revenue and therefore the initial concepts were focused on providing the operator with the number of covers required throughout the three floors. The challenge was fundamentally the shape of the building which was triangular and created a number of difficult pinch points on each level. Key to unlocking the footprint was the access between floors which was overcome with a spectacular three storey sculptural, elliptical staircase wrapped in a hammered bronze finish. This allowed for the energy and noise within the building to create a buzz through the floor levels. It also allowed us to show off the restaurant in a controlled manner by using glazed partitioning via a lobby area.
Our team has vast experience of this sector and critical to the spatial planning was balancing the front of house revenue opportunities with providing suitable and efficient back of house operational facilities. Careful consideration of the menu led to kitchen spatial design, prep areas and cellars and how service would be optimised to produce food and beverage across each floor.
The internal finishes within each of the floor spaces was designed to flow from one to another whilst having a separate identity to help delineate the different offerings.
The crown jewel as such was the gaining of planning permission to put a light weight structure on the roof with a retractable ceiling to give us an incredible roof top bar with fabulous panorama.
