World Hockey Bar Interior / By Abelardo Gonzalez Arkitektbyrå AB

Stockholm, Sweden
Abelardo Gonzalez Arkitektbyrå AB
Post By:Kitticoon Poopong

Photo © Courtesy of Åke E:Son Lindman

The entire design for World Hockey Bar is oriented around hockey. It is conceived as a kind of virtual space that creates the impression of being in a hockey stadium. This impression is closely integrated with a real and genuine rectangular space with concrete walls.

Photo © Courtesy of Åke E:Son Lindman

Guests get the impression of being involve in a combination of the magic and excitement of hockey, the delicious menu with its ”sports food” and the lively hockey bar with the informal but intimate contact it provides. All of this is combined with a wealth of hockey activities that are shown on the many TV screens available, partly under the banner of ”technology and entertainment”. This involves both interactive TV and virtual reality. Videos of some of the best matches in the history of hockey can be watched, captivating music being provided in the background.

Photo © Courtesy of Åke E:Son Lindman

Design and spatial layout:
The space is designed to consist of different zones, closely related to the zones of a hockey rink. Every zone has a function of its own, such as the bar, the space for merchandise and games, and the combined restaurant and bar.

Photo © Courtesy of Åke E:Son Lindman

Steel structures serve as connecting elements, both in spatial terms and in providing an image of how things are conceived. These structures provide support for TV screens, monitors, spotlights and the moveable video-jockey (VJ) compartment located five meters above the floor of the restaurant. The steel structure gives an expressionistic effect, one that attracts people to come in and accentuates the dynamic impression one gets of what is going on. The steel structure also extends into the entrance to create a dialogue between what is outside and in, opening the activities going on to those outside. The steel structure conveys an overall image of the impression which is intended. With its strong conceptual accent, it communicates a sense of freedom in how the space is to be divided up, making it easier too for any other activity that may be located there in the future to become established.

Photo © Courtesy of Åke E:Son Lindman

Details of how the space is divided:
The entrance to World Hockey Bar goes through a hockey visor in the roof, the floor-covering reflecting the same theme. This serves to create a dialog between the entrance and the activities inside.
Upon entering, one sees the merchandise section and the cloakroom to the left and the bar to the right. Straight ahead is a large TV screen that draws attention to the space beyond.

The cloakroom is in the form of an enlarged reproduction of a hockey helmet. Across the front of the cloakroom counter is a board of the sort surrounding a hockey rink with advertisements and logotypes. One goes in behind the visor of the helmet to hang outdoor attire. The space inside is separate in character from what is outside. All of its elements are made of glossy plastic. The visor is painted steel. The merchandise section has at its center a steel structure upon which shelves and a TV screen are mounted.

Photo © Courtesy of Åke E:Son Lindman

The bar serves as a natural meeting place. Both food and drink are served, the food being transported to it from the kitchen (located one floor below), by way of an elevator. The bar is constructed of the same material as the hockey helmet structure in which the cloakroom is located. Below the bar-counter, there is also a board of the type enclosing a hockey rink, again with advertisements or logotypes attached to it. In addition, there are a large number of TV screens placed one after the other around the bar.

The bar stools are patterned after hockey mitts. Separate areas in the vicinity of the bar differ in terms of atmosphere. The area closest to the counter is of typical bar character, with bar stools. It is a space for typical barflies. In the area beyond there are standup tables constructed in the form of a puck. There the atmosphere is calmer but it is still characterized by considerable activity. In the area still further from the bar there are tables at which people can sit. The tables are of the same type as the standup tables but are adjusted in height to sitting. The stools, which are light in weight, have a form similar to that of a hockey visor. The atmosphere there reflects activity, but is calmer yet. 

That area is separated from the next by a board of the same height as the bar, again of the same type as around a hockey rink. Suspended above it is a TV screen for video. On the other side of the board are further stools and tables. There the atmosphere is more relaxed. The tables bear the general form of a puck. The stools are patterned after the shoulder protectors that hockey players wear.

Photo © Courtesy of Åke E:Son Lindman

Behind the bar there is a section for games, a balcony, and also a set of seats arranged in grandstand form. One can sit there and eat while watching hockey matches on a large TV screen. A VJ compartment from which a disc jockey can steer the video projection to all the TV screens is located above the seating area.

Photo © Courtesy of Åke E:Son Lindman

The restaurant area is at a somewhat lower level than the bar and the areas associated with it. It has seats for 200 guests. Around it are grandstand-type seats, a balcony and a stage, providing areas for persons to sit or for dancing. A very large TV screen, together with advanced lighting effects produced by lights anchored in the supporting steel structure, creating a hockey-type atmosphere, as well as video and sound steered by a disc jockey, are dominant feature of the restaurant space.

Photo © Courtesy of Åke E:Son Lindman

The kitchen is located under the bar. The staff come with the food through a passageway of a hockey-rink type located under the grandstand structure. Bathrooms are also located under the bar, the entrance to them, which resembles a hockey goal but is of much larger dimensions, is of plastic of the same sort as in the coatroom and the bar.
There is also space for games located under the bar, directly connected with the restaurant section. The mood there is highly relaxed, there being sofas and easy chairs to sit on. The floor is like that in a dressing room. There are also compartments in this space similar to those in a dressing room. These are lighted by lamps that resemble hockey helmets.

Description from the Designer:

Photo © Courtesy of Åke E:Son Lindman

Project Data

Project name: World Hockey Bar
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Program: Hockey inspired interior design of restaurant and bar
Floor area: 500 m2

Competition Year: 2004

The people

Interior Designer: Abelardo Gonzalez Arkitektbyrå AB
Photographs: © Åke E:Son Lindman

Note>>Location in this map, It could indicate city/country but not exact address.

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