BAR/LOUNGE

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Spice & Barley, Bangkok

Evoking amber lagerbeing poured into a tall glass, the striking golden columns that billow up to the 98-foot-high ceiling in this craft-beer gastro lounge are the result of fusing 3-D digital technology with traditional Thai methods of weaving natural rattan, a sustainable material ideal for creating such freeflowing geometries. The gilded structures not only reference the panorama of high-rise buildings and glittering temples that surrounds the 3,230square-foot glass-walled space, which overlooks the Choa Priya River, but also reflect light to become glowing beacons visible from afar. And while the sculptural towers are an aesthetic tour de force, they are practical, too: The goldpainted rattan hides beer pipes, airconditioning ducts, and other related services, paying homage to the belief that, in design director Patrick Keane’s words, “form and function should be one, joined in a spiritual union.”

—Nicholas Tamarin

PROJECT TEAM: PATRICK KEANE; TOMAS GUEVARRA; AZUL PAKLAIN; ARCHANA RAMESH; SUPINYA COLIN.

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