XYZ Lounge & Bar in Ghent, Belgium by Didier Fiúza Faustino | Yellowtrace

XYZ Lounge & Bar in Ghent, Belgium by Didier Fiúza Faustino | Yellowtrace

XYZ Lounge & Bar in Ghent, Belgium by Didier Fiúza Faustino | Yellowtrace

XYZ Lounge & Bar in Ghent, Belgium by Didier Fiúza Faustino | Yellowtrace

 

Fleshy pink stucco mouldings, slabs of sandy, silver-veined marble, and a militia of Delete Yourself chairs in sage green: this is Didier Fiúza Faustino’s first bar, lounge, and restaurant.

The French-Portuguese architect straddles the lands of art and architecture, wielding both interchangeably to widen the possibilities and potential of space. In XYZ Lounge and Bar in Ghent, he has created an artistic vision of our interstellar future, a sort of space-age cathedral drenched in diffused light, and a decadent architectural fantasy fit for new experiences in an uncharted world. Elon Musk, take note.

Thematically at least, Didier’s vision for XYZ appears to follow on from Cosmogony – an exhibition concept he created for Hermes and Pierre Hardy that centred on the science of the creation of celestial bodies and the origin of our universe. At first glance, XYZ is the science fiction setting for a Sofia Coppola remake of Fritz Lang’s Metropolis (which – side note – I would definitely watch). Upon closer inspection, however, Didier’s idea of retrofuturism is more fluid. Speaking to Domus he said, “I like to imagine a space with no age: this place looks as if there is some reference, but it could be also classical, past but not future, future but not past.”

 

XYZ Lounge & Bar in Ghent, Belgium by Didier Fiúza Faustino | Yellowtrace

XYZ Lounge & Bar in Ghent, Belgium by Didier Fiúza Faustino | Yellowtrace

XYZ Lounge & Bar in Ghent, Belgium by Didier Fiúza Faustino | Yellowtrace

XYZ Lounge & Bar in Ghent, Belgium by Didier Fiúza Faustino | Yellowtrace

XYZ Lounge & Bar in Ghent, Belgium by Didier Fiúza Faustino | Yellowtrace

 

Located on the ground floor of a new arts centre and apartment complex called Zebrastraat, XYZ is made up of a series of interconnected spaces set over 360 square metres: a central nave and bar, events space, a smaller adjoining bar, and mezzanine platforms leading to conference halls and meeting rooms above.

A made to measure steel frame created a new outline for the interior, supporting the lightweight stucco and 3mm marble veneer, as well as textile ceilings, lighting surfaces, and timber cladding. Unlike our standard, dimly lit basement speakeasies, in XYZ soft white light is gently and effortlessly diffused throughout, emphasising the textures of various surfaces and giving each room that ethereal spaceship glow.

Furniture and features were designed by Didier specifically for the project. Beneath the centre bar’s pitched cathedral ceiling is a floating marble countertop, and dramatic, diamond-shaped acoustic panels draped in dense olive green. In the event space are rows of Didier’s rotomoulded polypropylene Delete Yourself chairs, whose aesthetic appeal far outweighs their potential for discomfort. High tables and chairs made of varnished steel tubes, marble surfaces, and leather seats feature in the adjoining bar.

 

Related: Marble-Made Tent In The Galaxy: Romola Restaurant In Madrid By Andres Jaque.

 

 


[Images courtesy of Didier Fiúza Faustino. Photography by Felipe Ribon.]

 



About The Author

Sammy Preston is a writer, editor, and curator living in Sydney. Working especially within art and design, and then lifestyle and culture more broadly, Sammy is a senior writer at Broadsheet, and a contributing digital editor at Foxtel's Lifestyle platform. Sammy also contributes regularly to art and design press like VAULT Magazine, Art Collector, Art Edit, Habitus, and Indesign magazines. She's written art essays for MUSEUM, exhibition texts for Sophie Gannon Gallery, and has worked as an arts and culture editor for FBi Radio. In 2016, she worked as part of the editorial team for Indesign Magazine as digital editor during the publication's pivotal print and website redesign. Sammy was also the founding manager and curator of contemporary art space Gallery 2010—a curator-run initiative housed within a Surry Hills loading dock. The gallery hosted exhibitions with emerging and established artists from 2012 until 2016.

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