Over the years we’ve designed dozens of nightclubs, bars, and residential projects. In the process we’ve designed, then re-designed the same space on a few occasions. Two of them being Crobar Chicago and crobar at Cameo Theater in South Beach. Crobar Chicago was a re-design of the award-winning brand Callin Fortis and Ken Smith established in the the early nineties and beyond. Nightclub design is more than a paint job, more than “what color” is it and certainly more than the average dreamer can provide. The re-design in that case was aimed at evolving an already established and hugely successful brand to not only keep up with the times but amplify the nightclub synonymous with partying. South Beach took a different course. Crobar in South Beach was redefined with a new concept and a complete face lift. In both cases, the challenges presented during the re-design were compounded when compared to the ones faced when designing a space for the first time. Factoring in the previous space in these two circumstances and considering the iconic status achieved by crobar in Chicago and South Beach, the task can become daunting for anything less than the seasoned professional. In both cases the predecessors were equaled and in many ways out done by their successors, crobar Chicago 2.0 and Cameo. Creating a successful brand is already difficult enough in an area as competitive market as the nightlife industry. Expectations can be enormous when a space has the ghost of a international success still lingering in it’s walls and on the tongues of every patron previous and to come. In the end, we were able, through design, to push the spaces forward into the next chapter of their illustrious lifetimes.
Fast forward to the present. Imagine our surprise when we were approached to create another re-design. With a space previously home to the most infamous nightclub in the world it is your guess as to what city we are taking over next.
We will continue write more about this project as it continues. Stay tuned.