Anyone who wants to go out in Prague has not been able to get past the “Moon Club & Lounge” for a few weeks now. A ‘place to be’, where thanks to unique interior design the full moon shines every night.
On the dark side of the moon
If someone wishes you a “good night” at the end of the long Dlouhá Street at the corner of the Old Town Square in the heart of Prague, you should not run straight to bed. On the contrary, this phrase has been considered a charming invitation to a very special location among insiders for a few weeks now: the “Moon Club & Lounge”. A place where the dark side of the moon is currently being redefined.
Interior dreams
And all of this in a positive way – because the two creative studios Formafatal and Machar&Teichman have made interior dreams come true. But let’s start where the work of the two studios began a little more than a year ago: At the origin of the object. Until a few years ago, it had anything but the cool beat. Instead, a rather dusty old Prague bank resided in the building on the 740 square meters of old building space.
And so the experienced club owners gave the interior designers a clear assignment:
Get out the old vibes!
In order to make this happen, the bar was already set high in the tender:
The aim was to establish a venue in Prague that, thanks to its special interior, promised a higher level of quality at first glance than was previously known in the city.
Sure, such visions have a motivating effect. However, in this case, it was necessary to implement all possible solutions, even with the predominant building fabric, which could only be changed to a limited extent for legal reasons. The biggest problem here was the acoustics. After initial tests, it was clear that every area of the entire complex had to be illuminated from this aspect before the visual and certainly more exciting questions could be addressed.
Test of strength
Especially the spectacular inner courtyard became a real test of strength. The technically highly complicated result, in a nutshell, is as follows: The inner courtyard was covered with special double-roof glazing, the walls of the club were covered with special plaster and in between, so-called buffer wall constructions were installed, which basically function like breakwaters in the sea – here, for sound waves.
Particularly clever: these whispering walls were also deliberately used as room dividers to adapt the original floor plan of the bank to the needs of the club. From cosy seating areas and spectacular viewing areas to the bars and the dance floor, each area was thus separated from the others and each was given its own atmosphere.
The design
As the name already promises, the idea of an endless full moon night should be reflected in every detail in some way. Most of all, apart from the logical main motif, the moon, the mysticism of the night shouldn’t get a raw deal, either.
In order to pursue these ideas, it was first of all decided to use a very individual mix of materials: patinated metal sheets, dark burnt wood, old stained mirrors, ornamental paintings and velvet upholstered furniture in various colours. In addition, the walls were to be given a coat of paint that would remind one remotely of the surface of the moon.
Elaborate lighting design
Above all, however, they devoted a great deal of attention to the elaborate lighting design. This is especially evident in the so-called Alchymista Bar on the upper floor: Brass plates were attached to the ceiling here, which were previously treated with caustic tinctures before being perforated like silhouettes. So now special and specially made lamps create particularly mysterious light effects.
The main focus of attention, however, was the main bar in the inner courtyard. This is now covered with golden corrugated iron, above which hovers a spectacular lunar silhouette. But the three large and moon-shaped pendant luminaires with their light trotants above them are the real eye-catchers. In combination, they create reflections in the glass ceiling that are clearly reminiscent of the starry sky on a clear full moon night.
This should create a feeling of “exclusive and cool romance” among the 400 possible guests,
so the operators emphasise.
Moon Club & Lounge
DLOUHÁ 709/26
old town prague 1, 110 00
moonclub.cz
Text: Johannes Stühlinger
Photos: BoysPlayNice, formafatal.cz