Showbar

Candolim, Goa

‘Showbar’ is our modest attempt through a design intervention to pay tribute to the vast yet seldom recognized Art-Deco movement of design and architecture in Goa. As per our script, Showbar is a pub & diner visualized within the distressed walls of a 1940’s cinema hall that once existed in Candolim, Goa.The striking symmetry of the elevation, rounded building edges, grooved plaster bands and retro signage on the building facade exude Art-Deco.

The cinema hall was designed with a verandah that houses a small ticketing booth, a geometric patterned doorway that leads to a vast hall equipped with a stage and a large movie screen, and like all theaters, a balcony on the upper level. The floor is covered in deep shades of green, red and grey terrazzo, while wooden panelling, plastered mouldings, nostalgic light fixtures and movie posters adorn the rustic interior walls. While respecting the design and structure of the cinema hall building, our design adaptively reuses the functions of the existing movie theatre in order to harmonize with the needs of a new-age contemporary pub. The main hall is modified into a the main seating area/ dance floor with a linear bar; a large puncture in the lateral wall serves as an opening to an outdoor seating area while the balcony on the upper level becomes a space for unobtrusive dining. The existing verandah acts a relaxed lounge area with its ticketing counter serving as a photo booth. The design of the pub introduces modern elements that are inspired by the Art-Deco movement – a dramatic lighting installation, contemporary furniture, cubist floor tiles and stylized geometric patterns and forms.