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.

▼外立面，facade

他们选择了伦敦南部的新兴城区Balham来建立他们的南美风酒吧餐厅，并将其命名为Piraña。从经验中可以得知，餐厅成败与空间设计密不可分，因此Heathcote兄弟找到了Sella Concept，要他们设计一个新的酒吧品牌，赢得当地人的喜爱并有可能在Balham以外的地区发展。这个设计公司曾经设计过最近在Pimlico开业的Omar’s Place酒吧餐厅，还有De Beauvoir Block的咖啡厅和工作区。相较于Imperial Durbar的复古印第安装潢，业主希望他们的餐厅不要过于接近南美风格，因此Sella Concept的创始人Tatjana von Stein 和 Gayle Noonan没有采用南美地域柔软温暖的色调和传统图案，而是在此基础上创造了更醒目、迷人的复古设计，胜过南美传统的装潢。

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. 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.

▼室外就餐区，outside dining area

Sella Concept的创始人Tatjana von Stein说：“虽然餐厅提供类似南美风格的食物，但业主希望能创造一些独特的东西，不要有特殊的文化参照，同时让客人能在饮食中享受一天中的轻松时刻。我们的方法就是在色彩和流动空间上做文章，在饮食空间中创造更多可能。”在之前餐厅外观的基础上，设计师设想了一个流动的沉浸式空间，无缝分割不同氛围的区域。业主希望餐厅氛围是轻松愉快的，食客之间没有距离感，这种感觉需要创造流动空间，而不是分割空间。了解人们如何使用整个空间，通过视觉和空间的转换来适应餐厅内不同的行为，对于设计师来说，这是一种开始构思设计概念的典型方法。

‘While the food concept touches on South American cuisine, the brief was to create something unique with no particular cultural reference but that invites guests to eat and drink in a relaxed manner throughout the day. Our approach rests on colour and flow, creating spaces within spaces to drink and dine.’ – Tatjana von Stein, founder, Sella Concept. 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.

▼流动的沉浸式空间，无缝分割不同区域，a fluid, immersive space, seamlessly subdivided into different areas

Piraña的前厅明亮又热情，其中布置了厨师操作台、弧形吧台、加高的就餐平台，还有“秘密的”吧台雅室。后面的就餐区域灯光更加昏暗，用色更加大胆，边上还设置了舒适的私人房间，里面的客人可以直接呼叫吧台。这些有所区分但又相连的空间让Piraña的客人可以随意使用——无论他们是喜欢随意的社交空间还是私人就餐空间，在这里都可以得到满足。

Light and welcoming, Piraña’s front room houses a chef’s table, a curved bar, a banquette-lined 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.

▼前厅明亮又热情，front room is light and welcoming

▼厨师操作台和弧形吧台，chef’s table and curved bar

▼加高的就餐平台，banquette-lined platform

▼“秘密的”吧台雅室， ‘secret’ snug with a private bar hatch

▼后面的就餐区域灯光更加昏暗，用色更加大胆，the back room is darker and more indulgent in tone

▼舒适的私人房间，cosy and intimate private booths

设计师运用了大胆的配色来吸引眼球，室外装饰了蓝色和白色的马赛克瓷砖，红色金属结构上开设明显的窗户。Piraña运用丰富且触动人心的色彩和材料，创造了幽默又不可预测的美学艺术，包括定制的玉水磨石地板（与西班牙的制造商合作），吧台的小型马赛克瓷砖，朴实的深红色沙发坐垫，将空间连接起来的木制曲面板条。Sella Concept对温暖柔和的粉色十分热爱，Piraña的室内设计代表了他们另一个新起点。

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.

▼蓝色和白色的马赛克瓷砖，红色金属结构上开设明显的窗户，mosaics of blue and white tile and striking window façades dominated by a red metal framework

除了椅子和灯具，Piraña的其它设备和家具都由设计师专门设计，包括包间、吧台、稍稍抬高的就餐区、桌子、凳子、地板还有卫生间洗手池。设计师直接和建筑改造的承包商合作，没有涉及第三方的建筑师。

Apart from the chairs and lights, every fixture and item of furniture in Piraña has been custom and designed 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 third- party architect.

▼细节设计，detail design

Sella Concept基于Gayle Noonan的平面设计背景，还设计了Piraña的其它配套用品，包括菜单、名片还有网站，确保餐厅品牌各方面风格统一。

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.

▼菜单，menu

▼名片，business card

▼咖啡，coffee

Piraña是一个不寻常又充满热情的地方，在这个不大空间里可以体验到不同的氛围，Balham一个令人瞩目的新酒吧品牌就这样诞生了。

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.