Piraña in London, England by Sella Concept

Article source: Sella Concept 

When it comes to revitalising London nightlife, brothers Alastair and Nicholas Heathcote have prior experience. Everything they’ve touched in the last five years – their Indian-inspired cocktail den The$ Imperial$Durbar and Himalayan haunt The$Hill$Station$in Tooting, as well as their East London venture, the late-night Dalston tapas joint La$Cabina – has become a hit.

Image Courtesy © Nicholas Worley

• Architects: Sella Concept
• Project: Piraña
• Location: London, England
• Photography: Nicholas Worley

Image Courtesy © Nicholas Worley

Now, they’ve set their sights on Balham, South London’s up-and-coming neighbourhood du jour, to launch Piraña – a South American-inspired bar and restaurant located in the area’s emerging nightlife hub of Bedford Hill.

Knowing from experience that a venue can live or die on the design of the space, the brothers turned to Sella$Concept – the design studio behind recent Pimlico opening Omar’s Place and the café and workspaces of De Beauvoir Block – and charged them with designing a new bar brand that could win the hearts of locals and had the potential to expand beyond Balham.

Image Courtesy © Nicholas Worley

Image Courtesy © Nicholas Worley

In contrast to Imperial Durbar – a point-by-point recreation of vintage Indian interiors – the Heathcote brothers were keen that their new venture avoid drawing too closely from the South American aesthetic, so Sella Concept founders Tatjana$von$Stein and Gayle$Noonan resisted the soft, warm colours and traditional patterns associated with the region, and developed a bolder, engagingly retro design theme that transcends$specific$cultural$roots.

From the shell of a former restaurant, Sella Concept has conjured a fluid, immersive space, seamlessly subdivided into different areas, each with a subtly different mood. The owners were keen for the atmosphere to be casual and easygoing, with no sense of division between diners and drinkers, and this comes across in a layout governed by a feeling of flow rather than division. As is typical with Sella Concept projects, the design concept began by developing an understanding of how people will use the overall space, incorporating visual$shifts and atmospheric$transitions to accommodate changing behaviours within the venue.

Image Courtesy © Nicholas Worley

Image Courtesy © Nicholas Worley

Light and welcoming, Piraña’s front room houses a chef’s$table, a curved$bar, a banquetteDlined$ platform and a ‘secret’$snug with a private$bar$hatch. The back room is darker and more indulgent in tone, lined with cosy and intimate private$booths, from which customers can call the bar directly. These distinct but connected zones allow Piraña customers to use the space as their mood and preference dictates – whether they fancy sociable casual dining and drinking or a more private personal experience.

Image Courtesy © Nicholas Worley

Image Courtesy © Nicholas Worley

Designed to catch the eye with its bold$colour$combinations, the exterior has been styled with mosaics$of$ blue$and$white$tile$and striking window façades dominated by a red$metal$framework. Inside, Piraña’s playful, trend-agnostic aesthetic is created through the use of a rich, sensory palette of colours and materials, including a bespoke floor in jade$terrazzo (created in partnership with a fabricator in Spain), micro mosaic tiling at the bar, and a deep,$earthy$red in$the$upholstery and the curved$timber$slats that ties the space together. For Sella Concept, a studio known for its love of warm pastel pinks, the Piraña interior represents quite a departure.

Image Courtesy © Nicholas Worley

Image Courtesy © Nicholas Worley

Apart from the chairs and lights, every fixture and item of furniture in Piraña has been customDdesigned$for$the$ space$by$Sella$Concept – including the booths, bar, banquette, tables, stools, floors$and bathroom$sinks – and, unusually, the studio worked directly with the building contractor on the renovation, without involving a thirdparty architect.

Image Courtesy © Nicholas Worley

Image Courtesy © Nicholas Worley

Taking advantage of Gayle Noonan’s background in graphic$design, Sella Concept has also created Piraña’s$visual$identity, deployed on menus, business$cards and online – ensuring that the character and style of the restaurant carries smoothly onto all brand collateral.

The result is an unusual and inviting venue that somehow packs a host of different atmospheres into a comparatively small space, and a bold new bar brand for Balham.

Image Courtesy © Nicholas Worley

Image Courtesy © Nicholas Worley

Tags: England, London

Categories: Bar, Restaurant

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