Photography Peter Bennetts.

“Pop Down bar successfully balanced the dynamic energy of a transient installation – playful, surprising and a little magical – with an enduring quality expressed in the material choices and careful repetition of detailed elements. The luminosity of the installation in an otherwise drab environment created a thrilling sense of discovery.” —Sarah-Jane Pyke, IDEA 2015 Jury

Comprising an ephemeral bar room created in the basement of Space Furniture, Pop Down Bar’s role was to host several temporary events for a range of clients. A stacked timber threshold led visitors into an immersive basement bar room chamber delineated by a perimeter screen of American ash and golden fabric.

Required to appear unbranded and cohesive, the design response, working with a local supplier, utilised readily available and easily reusable timber lengths to create a series of demountable ash screens connected with angled capping to create an inner chamber in the basement. An illuminated backdrop of golden fabric lined the perimeter beyond to create a cohesive and immersive environment. A compressed entry of stacked timber provided a sense of release into the bar room chamber upon arrival.

Built and demounted quickly for a very limited budget, the screens used timber lengths that were readily available and employ a construction method allowing efficient off-site manufacture, easy transportation and simple installation. The project demonstrates an inventive response to a complex brief to create an architecturally cohesive temporary environment with a sense of theatrical immersion.