Shochu- Best New Bar, Shortlist FX Design Awards 2005

The prestigious FX Awards, organised by FX Magazine, invite British and international design talent from all over the world to enter the very best of interior products and projects.  Shochu Bar was shortlisted for FX Awards, Best New Bar in 2005.

Shochu, one of the main ingredients of the drinks served at Shochu bar, is a Japanese whiskey or fortified wine.   This discreet bar is located underneath Roka restaurant on Charlotte Street. The signage for Shochu was kept purposely discreet in keeping with the concept of the bar as an exclusive venue that could be discovered by word of mouth and by discerning drinkers.

The design approach is the result of collaboration between B3 Designers and Noriyoshi Muramatsu of Tokyo-based design company Super Potato.  One of the key features of Shochu is the bar layout: at the centre of the space stands the island bar.  This layout means that the customers have a direct effect on the ambience, as even in the early part of the evening as the first customers trickle in the bar is lively and happening.  The island bar includes a lower bar which functions as the mixologist’s table, allowing customers to watch the bartender as their drink is made.

The organic materials give Shochu distinct character: the bar top is made from a disfigured elm tree trunk, which due to its nature continued to dry and settle after being installed. All of the stainless steel back bar equipment was powder coated black, making it almost invisible in the dimmed light environment.  On the bar, a large block of ice sits and waits for the bar tender to literally hack fresh pieces of ice from the block. Customers are served drinks with rustic form lumps of ice. To avoid the ice block melting the design team inserted an optic fibre light in the space below where the ice block is positioned. When the ice block is first laid out, it glows as if it has an internal illumination. The optic fibre is cool to touch and therefore doesn't cause the ice to melt.