Hidden doors. Hidden rooms. Hidden bunkers. If you say that you found pretty much anything hidden, you've got our attention. Finding these hidden gems is one of the coolest thing you can do on the internet these days. Mysteries like these are the things that keep geeks like me up at night wondering just what else is out there for us to find.
Lately, we've seen a lot of people that took the idea of the mysterious hidden room and included it in their home design. Whether it's a hidden reading room for the kids or a hidden dog house under the stairs, these stories are always a treat to discover. One architect, however, has taken the concept and made it even more elaborate and way cooler.
Designer Alberto Caiola designed a Shanghai sandwich shop called The Press to feature a vintage Coca-Cola machine on one of its walls. When you open the soda machine, however, you realize that you're not about to get a refreshing coke and a smile, but you're about to walk through a secret door that is actually a hidden entrance to a cocktail bar (fashioned after a modern speakeasy) named Flask. Amazing!
Check out the below photos to find out more about The Press, Flask, and the idea behind this very cleverly hidden bar.
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(Main photo: shen zhonghai / albertocaiola.com)
In the back corner of a Shanghai sandwich shop called The Press, there is a vintage Coca-Cola machine, but it's no ordinary soda machine.
"Flask and The Press is an unconventional duo that upends the traditional speakeasy concept: an intimate contemporary lounge concealed behind the facade of a cheery, sandwich shop," says a press release from Flask and The Press. "Together, they're a juxtaposition of light and dark, elegance and funkyness [sic], personal and playful."
A better view of the Coca-Cola machine actually reveals it to be a secret door to a hidden cocktail bar called Flask, which is modeled after the speakeasy tradition that came about during Prohibition.
"Considering that Shanghai has already seen its fair share of hidden speakeasy-themed bars and lounges we decided to build suspense and break it in an entirely unexpected fashion. In order to maximise [sic] impact, we would need to execute the project in a fundamentally different, distinct way, building expectations and genuine surprise by creating contradictory, anachronistic aesthetics."
The entrance to Flask offers a view of the amazing architecture and design by Alberto Caiola.
"As a result, we created The Press, a colourful sandwich shop. At first glance, The traditional diner setting of The Press looks immediately familiar to passerby, but a number of edgier, more contemporary details call for a second look. The centerpiece of the room is a vintage Coca-Cola vending machine, which is split vertically to swing open and reveal the entrance to Flask."
This view of the unique ceiling shows off some of the cube shapes that define the space.
"Stepping into the tunnel between The Press and Flask, the visitor experiences an extreme contrast in environment. The fun, lighthearted feel, the bright colours and lighting—within a few steps, these elements segue into a mysterious space with warm, muted lighting and the murmurs of bar patrons to invite further curiosity. Following the camouflage door, the patron is presented with more visual cues of the traditional speakeasy: elaborate displays of bottles of liquor, a blend of dark and dim, plus a motley crew of furniture pieces that hints at the evanescence of these establishments as they were in the past."
There's a large partition wall filled with 25-liter whiskey bottles that harkens back to the design's prohibition-era spirit and also provides privacy to a lounge area.
"We also created two installations featuring bottles of liquor. The first is a floor-to-ceiling shelving unit standing right next to the entrance, with 25 litre whiskey bottles that has a built-in spotlight on each bottle to illuminate the amber glow of the liquid inside. The second is a wall installation featuring rows of flasks that are hidden behind a mysterious layer—like the speakeasy itself, the surfaces of these flasks are hidden, with only the outline of their shapes to give the viewer an idea of what lies beneath."
The ceiling is adorned with gorgeous copper fixtures that give the room a subtle, warm glow.
"The rest of the space is designed to feel private and personal. Lighting is kept minimal and muted, with several base points throughout the venue each emitting a warm glow of light that bounces off one another."
The copper fixtures also accent the earth-tone colors of the space and its furnishings.
"The most prominent of these is the copper lighting arrangement in the inside of the drop ceiling, which diffuses subtle amber light from the overhead. This light reflects off of the cascading cubes on the other end of Flask, creating an overall glowing effect that lifts the conventionally imposing feeling of low ceilings."
There's even a large convex mirror that reflects the entire bar and all its vintage trappings.
"LED lights against the mirrored backdrop of the bar counter reflect the bottles on display back to the patrons, creating an illusion of depth that makes the wall seem to disappear. This slanted mirror also faces the entrance so that visitors looking straight ahead will see the flow of overhead cubes wrapping around his of her head, giving another subtle visual pull into the bar. On the far side of the venue, a large convex mirror reflects the entire bar back onto itself. "
Every space in Flask is perfectly laid out to make the patrons feel comfortable, relaxed, and at ease with their surroundings. It's all very inviting.
"To add to the warm, cozy feel of the venue, we created partitions in the seating area that transition with natural ease. Looking from the right side to the left of the venue, the heights of the seats and table surfaces are lowered, raised, and lowered again in increments to create a dynamic landscape within a compact, enclosed space. Similarly, the wooden floorboards parallel this fluid movement by going from dark, to light and back to darker wood."
Now that's a lot more fun than just grabbing a soda from that Coca-Cola machine in the sandwich shop, right?
