COLLIDER is a coworking space, event-hall and bar located on the territory of the former silkworm factory of the 19th century in the center of Moscow. The coworking space and bar were designed by the COLLIDER team. Daring loft-style solutions fully paid off in the coworking area, and the guys managed to create a cool space for work. But for the bar, the same stylistic choices didn't work. The bar turned out to be gloomy and uncomfortable. We were faced with the task of redesigning the bar while preserving the overall concept and stylistic connection with the rest of the spaces. The new bar should be cozy, comfortable and combine the functions of a bar and a coworking space.
The project began in mid-winter. The opening date was scheduled for April. At the height of construction in Moscow, a lockdown was introduced. At that moment, the main construction work was already completed, and we were engaged in a complete set. We were lucky, and most of our suppliers, although they increased delivery times, still continued to work. But problems began with the financing of the project, tk. the coworking space did not work for several months, but continued to pay rent. As a result, the project was not fully implemented. Only the lounge area was fully equipped. In the rest of the zones, some of the furniture is missing, somewhere the finishing materials from the project have been replaced with budget solutions. But the coworking space decided to open the bar in this form and gradually complete the project on its own.
Upon entering the bar, the first thing that catches the eye is the seating area in the shade of artificial trees. This is the perfect place to reboot during your working day. Here, stretching out in a relaxed position on the sofa, you can chat with friends and colleagues or just smoke a hookah. In this area, we used an interesting technique - parquet boards were installed in a self-leveling concrete floor.
We decided to leave the existing bar counter, it is made of concrete and dismantling would be too expensive. We tried to integrate it better into the space with the help of lamps and decorative pendant panels. The space uses many round shapes - a reference to the idea of a collider - neon tube lights, circular decorative panels, gold brass tube lights.
When redeveloping, we faced one problem. After removing all the partitions in the center of the hall, a rectangular server room remained, which could not be moved anywhere. We decorated it with backlit perforated stainless steel sheets. Now the server room has become an interesting object, which also conveniently zones the space, making the work area more private.
The cold loft space had to be made cozy. We've added wood texture, accent lights and simple Scandinavian furniture. The interior used a neutral color scheme. The result is an interesting space that has retained its loft character, but at the same time has become more friendly and cozy. And even some incompleteness adds charm to the project.
During the construction work, we faced a number of difficulties. First, I had to redo a lot of things that were not planned. The floor was completely redone, including the screed, the walls were reinforced. The second challenge was the electrician. Wires from all over the coworking space led to the server room, which we ended up stitching up with perforated sheets of metal. It was impossible to move the server room. And we had to keep all the wires, without damaging anything during the repair.
A large construction team worked on the project. Everyone was interested in doing everything in the best possible way in a short time. Therefore, despite all the difficulties, the quarantine force majeure and problems in financing the project was successfully implemented, albeit a little in an unfinished version.
