You have The Room

Fresh from his interiors for Amura at the Mount Nelson winning the VISI Style Award for best restaurant interiors at last week’s Eat Out Restaurant Awards, Tristan Du Plessis newest project has just opened.

PHOTOS Natelee Cocks

It joins Tightline and Tyler’s grill house in eMdloti on Durban’s North Coast as part of restauranter Tyler Loome’s stable. Located below Tightline, it’s simply called The Room … think part bar, part listening room, part 1970’s music scene vibes.

Tristan gave us some insights into the design process behind The Room.

The brief

“The brief was to transform a subterranean space, previously 16 parking bays beneath an existing restaurant in Durban, into Durban’s coolest bar and lounge. With a personality as strong as its owner Tyler Loomes Tightline, Tyler’s) 

The concept

“It drew inspiration from the atmosphere, materiality and cultural excess of 1970s recording studios, aiming to create an immersive, music-driven environment that balances intimacy, energy and a strong, contemporary sense of place.”

Design challenges

“The primary challenge was time. We were tasked with designing and delivering the project within six weeks, requiring the enclosure of existing parking bays while simultaneously developing a resolved design and executing construction.

“This compressed timeline demanded decisive thinking and rapid coordination, but ultimately created a sense of creative freedom, allowing the project to evolve instinctively without over-analysis. It’s a process I likely won’t do again, but it was surprisingly so much fun … just throwing the kitchen sink at the design without time for any second guessing.”

Design results

“The result is a deeply immersive, atmospheric bar and lounge that translates the spirit of a 1970s recording studio into a contemporary experience. It has a soulfulness and it’s a space to be discovered through texture and detail, with some naughtier details scattered throughout [not in any of the print-ready imagery :) ]

“I love how we were given the creative freedom to create an acid trip-inspired (metaphorically) retro-futuristic space with no guard rails,  it has also been so motivating for our studio to create work in South Africa, something which we are allowing more studio time for.” | tristanduplessis.com

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