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"It's kind of like the lost city of Kowloon, a city within a city," says AvroKO principal Greg Bradshaw of the design of Social House restaurant inside Treasure Island (TI) Las Vegas. "We took that as a reference point and created different areas, different markets throughout." But the design wasn't just a creative solution to management's request for a lounge-like Asian restaurant that would attract a young, fashionable crowd. It was also a functional resolution to the challenging, long and winding 12,000-square-foot space previously home to the more formal Buccaneer Bay restaurant. "There was no reason to explore it unless we put bars or destinations throughout," says Bradshaw.
The designers started at the entrance. Impossible to find in its former life, it was opened up by creating a dynamic bar viewable from the casino floor featuring a black screen backlit pink, as well as a giant glowing staircase outfitted with hundreds of brass drawers (some open, some lit, some filled with herbs). Meant to represent a traditional herbal apothecary, its top is lined with bell jars filled with colorful Japanese herbs.
Up the stairs, the lounge ceiling, modeled after a communal market, is made up of hanging imported birdcages from Thailand; some are lit from within projecting "unusual shapes and shadows on the wall," says Bradshaw of the effect. Taking the idea one step further, 150 antique red lacquered carved birds sit in wooden niches that wrap the entire space.
Down the hall, giant subway-inspired ceiling fans and a wall lined with rows of stacked Japanese newspapers in custom steel contraptions decorate the industrial room. "It's like a big warehouse releasing the news for the town," Bradshaw says, adding that it was a nightmare to get approved. "We have $700 worth of newspapers and $3,000 worth of fire proofing."
No city would be complete without a fisherman's wharf, or in this case, sushi bar. In the little enclave lined with walls made of gray marble in three different finishes (split, combed, and pock marked), antique wooded buckets line the backbar while 30 lead weights suspend on varying lengths of hanging fishing line, creating a wave form above the green tiled bar. "It's one of my favorite pieces in the space," Bradshaw says. "It's so cheap and simple. "Opposite the sushi bar is the opulent VIP room made of 200 glass opium pipes filled with tea to "resemble what you are not supposed to smoke," Bradshaw says with a laugh. Fake magenta flowers in planters on the wall add a touch of color in an otherwise black and silver room.
A huge aspect of the overall design was utilizing the previously unused outdoor area (which makes up one-third of the space). The designers extended it, wrapped banquette seating around the deck-like area, and placed a series of oversized white umbrellas complete with industrial lanterns throughout. Large planters give diners privacy, but also allow them to watch the hotel's nightly Sirens pirate show. "You can see the umbrellas from the Strip," Bradshaw explains. "They are like the power source for this little city, the outside buzz."
Even though the success of AvroKO's signature elegant industrialism look lies in the amount of calculated detail throughout each project, this one took a lot out of the designers. "It is the most complex project we have done so far," Bradshaw says of the firm's first Sin City project. "It's such a difficult space and we didn't make it easier on ourselves by creating so many spaces. But we can't wait for the next one."
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Social House
July 13, 2007Social House's lounge
The designers started at the entrance. Impossible to find in its former life, it was opened up by creating a dynamic bar viewable from the casino floor featuring a black screen backlit pink, as well as a giant glowing staircase outfitted with hundreds of brass drawers (some open, some lit, some filled with herbs). Meant to represent a traditional herbal apothecary, its top is lined with bell jars filled with colorful Japanese herbs.
Up the stairs, the lounge ceiling, modeled after a communal market, is made up of hanging imported birdcages from Thailand; some are lit from within projecting "unusual shapes and shadows on the wall," says Bradshaw of the effect. Taking the idea one step further, 150 antique red lacquered carved birds sit in wooden niches that wrap the entire space.
Down the hall, giant subway-inspired ceiling fans and a wall lined with rows of stacked Japanese newspapers in custom steel contraptions decorate the industrial room. "It's like a big warehouse releasing the news for the town," Bradshaw says, adding that it was a nightmare to get approved. "We have $700 worth of newspapers and $3,000 worth of fire proofing."
No city would be complete without a fisherman's wharf, or in this case, sushi bar. In the little enclave lined with walls made of gray marble in three different finishes (split, combed, and pock marked), antique wooded buckets line the backbar while 30 lead weights suspend on varying lengths of hanging fishing line, creating a wave form above the green tiled bar. "It's one of my favorite pieces in the space," Bradshaw says. "It's so cheap and simple. "Opposite the sushi bar is the opulent VIP room made of 200 glass opium pipes filled with tea to "resemble what you are not supposed to smoke," Bradshaw says with a laugh. Fake magenta flowers in planters on the wall add a touch of color in an otherwise black and silver room.
A huge aspect of the overall design was utilizing the previously unused outdoor area (which makes up one-third of the space). The designers extended it, wrapped banquette seating around the deck-like area, and placed a series of oversized white umbrellas complete with industrial lanterns throughout. Large planters give diners privacy, but also allow them to watch the hotel's nightly Sirens pirate show. "You can see the umbrellas from the Strip," Bradshaw explains. "They are like the power source for this little city, the outside buzz."
Even though the success of AvroKO's signature elegant industrialism look lies in the amount of calculated detail throughout each project, this one took a lot out of the designers. "It is the most complex project we have done so far," Bradshaw says of the firm's first Sin City project. "It's such a difficult space and we didn't make it easier on ourselves by creating so many spaces. But we can't wait for the next one."
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