BARS & RESTAURANTS
Claridge’s ArtSpace Café
Mayfair
In a materials palette of plaster, stone, timber and brass, this café forms part of Claridge’s in-house ArtSpace gallery. It was designed by John Pawson, the first time that Ben Whistler had worked with the celebrated British architect, known for his exacting, minimalist style.
The tones are muted throughout, with caramel-coloured leather banquettes and pale timber.
The café acts as a foyer for the basement gallery area, so it needed to be warm and welcoming as well as chic and sophisticated. Minimal design often requires hard work to make everything look effortlessly simple, and there was a templating and prototyping process to ensure a perfect fit for Ben Whistler’s banquettes, which have integrated metal shelves, leather side panels (as well as leather seats and backs), and also needed to slot exactingly around a window sill.
Ben Whistler also made the café’s tables, in ash with an antique brass base, topped by either marble or a liquid metal finish; adding a drawer to the very slimline table tops was another show of the makers’ skill. Outdoor tables were made in the same style, but in powder-coated aluminium for weather resistance.
