The bar and café celebrates Feliks Topolski's artwork.
Topolski is located in the arches next to the Southbank Centre.
Industrial and raw style-looking gallery and F&B offer.
In November 2013 B3 created the interiors of newly opened bar and café Topolski located in the Hungerford arches next to the South Bank Centre.
With a self-supporting scaffolding structure within the arches to hold and display Topolski’s artwork, this new industrial, raw style-looking gallery truly celebrates Feliks Topolski’s work, a cultural DNA of London’s South Bank. Feliks Topolski established his studio in 1953 in a nearby arch and in 1975 acquired the arches where newly opened Topolski bar/café is now located.
Our brief was to turn this 370 sqm arch space into a venue that allowed visitors to enjoy Feliks Topolski’s artworks. This was to incorporate a counter bar and seating for Company of Cooks food offer, whilst creating an aesthetic that reflected Topolski utilitarian artistic approach.
We designed the 370 sqm arch space into a venue that allowed visitors to enjoy Feliks Topolski’s artworks.
Classic civic style furniture.
One of the main interior features is the reclaimed scaffolding structure within the ceiling of the arches displaying Topolski’s artwork – though an ideal solution for showcasing such huge pieces of artwork in arch spaces, they also reflect the artist’s down to earth creative approach.
The scaffolding structure is clad with simple plywood and soft wood battens, referencing art crates used for transportation.
The large bar centrally located follows the same design with softwood battens and ply cladding referencing the art crates.
The bar top itself is made from reclaimed school desks whose surfaces are covered in graffiti.
Reclaimed scaffolding structure within the ceiling of the arches displaying Topolski’s artwork.