The paradise just around the corner – HIMACS lends luminosity to The Paradise Now bar in Düsseldorf
HIMACS provides glorious visual impact at the new hybrid restaurant, bar, bistro and club in Düsseldorf’s MedienHafen district
The concept for The Paradise Now in Düsseldorf was developed with the aim of understanding and meeting human needs and creating an escape from the everyday. Düsseldorf restaurateur Walid El Sheikh joined forces with Moritz von Schrötter and Charles Bals from design agency Parasol Island to bring the new and versatile mix of restaurant, bar, bistro and club to life. Together they turned their vision into reality within a space of just under 1,000 m2 under one roof in the Düsseldorf MedienHafen district. The new venue, located at Hammer Strasse 27, opened its doors in August 2021, offering guests a restaurant, bar and club, and the freedom to move between these whenever the mood struck.
Nothing was left to chance in the design of the new restaurant-bar concept, which gives off holiday vibes and cultivates total relaxation. High ceilings, bright colours and pleasant lighting create a relaxed ambiance from the moment one enters: go to the restaurant, for example, to enjoy the open, airy space and embark on a culinary journey with the “Coast2Coast” kitchen. The prevailing white base tone is perfectly complemented by natural colours, organic shapes, natural materials like wicker furniture and plants from warmer southern regions of the world.
The tropical interior design of the restaurant merges with the open, hybrid bar/bistro space and continues there, where guests can immerse themselves in the holiday ambiance as they enjoy light bites, drinks and Latin funk grooves. The bar/bistro area can accommodate up to 140 guests and also features an elegant, friendly white base tone, accentuated here by just the natural shades of the rattan pendant lights and bar stools, as well as the hanging plants dropping in from the ceiling.
The absolute centrepiece and highlight – in the truest sense of the word – of the bar is its spectacular custom-made counter, which measures an impressive 16 metres long. Around 30 guests can sit here, unwinding over drinks and cocktails and dreaming of sun, beach and sea. HIMACS solid surface material in the colour “Arctic White” was used for the work surface at the back of the counter, while “Ispani” from the LX Hausys Marmo collection was used for the visible part of the countertop, and the front and side elements of this unique counter. The designers took full advantage of the one-of-a-kind visual properties of the solid surface material, which align perfectly with the current trend of a high-quality marble aesthetic. When the bar is lit up in the evening, the marbling of the solid surface material shines through even more. Stylish wall panels, also in backlit HIMACS, with inset elements at different depths cover ten metres of the back wall behind the bar. These panels are not just visually striking, but can also be used as practical shelves for glasses and other bar utensils. The fabricator Karl Heller GmbH from Düsseldorf was responsible for the outstanding customisation of the spectacular counter.
The exceptional properties of HIMACS make it ideally suited for use in restaurants and bars – but owner Walid El Sheikh actually came to know of the material in a different context. “The first time I saw HIMACS was in a hotel bathroom, and I was immediately taken by the unique look and feel of the solid surface material. It’s like stone, but with a smooth, non-porous surface and consistency of colour that put it in a superior class!”
Walid El Sheikh also praises HIMACS, which is composed of acrylic, minerals and natural pigments, for its versatility and flexibility, including the extensive colour range available and the ease of processing and thermoformability. These properties allow for unusual design ideas like the bar at The Paradise Now. “Every guest is fascinated by this material,” Walid El Sheikh says of the strong impact on visitors to the bar. “Not a day goes by that our guests don’t touch the surface and then marvel at the perfect smoothness.” And speaking of people touching the bar: HIMACS is the ideal material for high-traffic areas with high-contact surfaces when it comes to hygiene, cleanliness and user-friendliness. It is an especially durable, stain-resistant material that is easy to clean.
Guests who decide to move to the club area after a relaxing start to the evening in the bar or restaurant find the solid surface material there as well. The DJ stand, which houses all of the essential sound systems, is elegantly and discreetly formed from black HIMACS. Under a neon lighting installation, up to 400 guests can get lost in the futuristic ambiance and continue their escape to paradise into the early morning hours.
PROJECT INFORMATION
Project: The Paradise Now, Düsseldorf www.the-paradise-now.de
Design: Moritz von Schrötter, Charles Bals, Walid El Sheikh
Fabrication: Schreinerei Karl Heller GmbH www.schreinerei-heller.de
Material: HIMACS “Ispani”, “Arctic White” and “Black” www.himacs.eu
Material Supplier: Becher GmbH & Co. KG www.becher-holz.de
HIMACS elements: counter and backlit wall cladding in bar area, surface of DJ stand in club area
Photos: © Rainer Rehfeld Fotografie
HIMACS. Because Quality Wins.
Project website: http://www.himacs.eu
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