Bompas & Parr are set to open an immersive new cocktail bar in London over summer, which will provide visitors with “Breathable cocktails.” A self-initiated project from the culinary events consultancy, the interior of the bar will be filled with alcoholic vapours, which will circumvent the conventional channels completely, taking the booze directly into a visitor's bloodstream through their lungs and eyeballs! The “Fully immersive alcohol environment” works by creating an alcoholic cloud composed entirely of fine spirits and mixer at a ratio of 1:3 and made using powerful humidifiers to super-saturate the air.
An immersive new cocktail bar in London over summer, which will provide visitors with “Breathable cocktails”
Company co-founder Sam Bompas, said that they wanted to really express their own voice with the Alcoholic Architecture project, which will be open in Borough food and drink market from the 30th of July. The location (the market is situated next to the UK’s earliest gothic cathedral and on the site of an ancient monastery) also had a huge influence on the design of the bar and even the drinks being served, with every drink on the menu said to have been historically made by monks. Drinks served will include Chartreuse, Benedictine, Trappist beer and even the notorious Buckfast (a fortified wine so savage that Scotland’s parliament is reportedly drafting legislation to stop the caffeinated intoxicant from entering their country). The bar, which will remain open for six month until January 2016, will also be using produce taken from the Borough market.
The Bompas & Parr studio is composed of experimental designers, most known for their temporary projects including installations made from jelly, scented fireworks displays and cooking with lightning. The consultancy has been developing the breathable bar project for the last six years, having conducted research into the safety implications of high humidity environments.
Bompas & Parr wanted to really express their own voice with the project
Bompas says he feels the bar will “Give visitors a profound, unique experience where they are at centre of the event,” by giving them “A bar unlike any they will have ever experienced before.” Of the distinct design style, he says: “The styling is Medieval meets Miami. We’re using the history to do something that feels contemporary. We’ve used neon reds and blues which code visually for parties, but also incorporated stained-glass windows, designed by artist Tom Fewell.”
Bompas adds: “With projects like this, you get the lofty freedom of being able to do almost anything you want, but you also have to make sure it’s going to work, because you have to pay for it! Everything has to have a very strong rationale behind it. But whether we’re working for somebody or not, our ultimate aim is the same; to give people a wonderful, extraordinary experience. Creating memories is first and foremost on the agenda. This project reminds me of young Bompas & Parr. When we started out, we were our only client and we didn’t have a track record of work. We just did stuff we thought needed to happen in London, and did our own brief. We love working with brands but it’s also key to have your own voice and articulate things in an unmediated sense. We spend our time having wonderful adventures with creativity, and this seemed like a great opportunity.”
Alcoholic Architecture will be open at Borough Market in London from July 30
Alcoholic Architecture will be open at Borough Market in London from July 30, with tickets priced at £12.50 for a one hour slot.
