Babylon Bar And Kitchen / 23 Degrees Design Shift

Architects: 23 Degrees Design Shift
Area: 11126 ft²
Year: 2023
Photographs: Vivek Eadara
Lead Architects: Ar.Srikanth Reddy, Ar.Neelesh Kumar, Ar.Kaustubh Sharma
Structural: Pennar Industries
Lighting Design: Love of Light
Landscape: Kiasma Studio
Design: Sahithi
Furniture: Kharanam
Program / Use / Building Function: Commercial, Food and beverage
Stone: Stone Life
Facades: Anvika Facades
City: Hyderabad
Country: India

Babylon Bar and Kitchen, designed by 23 Degrees Design Shift in Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad, enhances the urban landscape with its integrated zones and rustic materials. The project features distinct indoor, semi-open, and brewery areas, connected through strategic spatial planning and visual coherence. Elevated residential plots and a sloping site shape the design, which includes an elevated brewery visible from the approach road. The use of glass, organic curves, and a kinetic sculpture enriches the visitor experience, while Dholpur sandstone and finished concrete define the aesthetic.

Babylon Bar and Kitchen / 23 Degrees Design Shift

The bar project is located in the bustling neighborhood of Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad, within a dense urban setting. It is surrounded by residential plots on the South and East sides, and approach roads on the North and West sides. The site gently slopes from the southwest to the northeast, descending by 6 feet. The Southern and Eastern plots are notably elevated by 20 feet, supported by retaining walls.

The project’s design revolves around spatial planning, divided into four zones: Services, Indoor, Semi-open, and Brewery. The service block in the Southern quadrant acts as an acoustic buffer from neighboring residential plots. The indoor zone, located in the Eastern quadrant, offers an immersive experience. The semi-open zone, designed around existing trees, provides shaded seating areas and leads to a captivating courtyard where the brewery is situated.

The architecture features extensive glass on the ground floor, fostering visual connections throughout the space. The elevated brewery offers visibility of the brew tanks from the approach road, adding to the site’s allure. The indoor bar, designed as a double-height volume, seamlessly connects with the brewery’s slab. On the first floor, a floating concrete staircase near the brew tanks provides access to the mezzanine in the indoor bar, introducing an element of surprise and curiosity. To balance the indoor bar’s scale, a dynamic kinetic sculpture adds movement and visual interest. The service block spans three levels: toilets on the ground floor, a kitchen on the first floor, and a bakery and administration area on the second floor. The composite structure, with metal columns and R.C.C. beams and slabs, ensures structural integrity.

The coffered brewery slab supports the brew tanks, with segmented circular columns creating an illusion of weightlessness. Organic curves in flooring and wall designs offer visual coherence and respite from geometric shapes. Removing walls between the brewery and indoor bar blurs the boundary, making columns and slabs appear as a single entity. Perimeter beams with integrated R.C.C. gutters double as planters, introducing greenery. The entrance structure, a suspended composite slab, appears visually seamless due to clever use of cables.

The design features a rustic material palette. Dholpur sandstone clads the compound wall, unifying the site. Finished concrete showcases the natural beauty of the slabs. Washed concrete with black and red stone chips creates a monolithic flooring presence. The indoor bar is enclosed by DGU frames with a Corten metal finish, giving it a distinct visual identity.