The garden area and bar at Super Lyan|||
One of the world’s best bartenders has opened his first bar outside London, a colourful, neon-lit space in Amsterdam
The newest bar by Ryan Chetiyawardana – the award-winning bartender behind Dandelyan in London – is a flexible, colourful all-day space in Amsterdam that combines “the optimism of the 1950s” with a dash of psychedelic colour.
Inside the lounge space. Photo by Ashkan Mortezapour Photography
Part of the Kimpton de Witt hotel, which opened in 2017, Super Lyan isn’t just for guests. The design, but Jacu Strauss at Lore Studio, opened up a previously unused courtyard for the concept, creating three areas for guests – the bar and garden, and a more private ‘living room’. Visitors can enter through the hotel by day, and by evening, the bar has its own entrance.
The bar with red stools and pink neon. Photo by Patrick Meiss
The project had to work within the constraints of a protected historic building, with different parts from the 19th century and 1920s. Lore Studio decided to continue the layering of historic interiors and created a contrasting design to stand alongside and reveal the older walls and panels.
The furniture references the 1950s. Credit Patrick Meiss
Most striking of all is the colour palette, with shades of blue, purple, pink and green all appearing at various intervals throughout the space. Inspiration for the style and materials came from the 1950s and a mid-century modern influence, demonstrated in the shiny diner-like bar stools and the terrazzo surfaces. The colours, however, are more psychedelic than the era and are inspired by food with the bar emulating “an ice-cream dessert with what looks like chocolate sprinkles in the countertop and cherry red button bar stools,” the studio’s design description explains. Other inspirations were a photography series Wardrobe Snacks by Kelsey McClellan and Michelle Maguire, pairing foods with block colour outfits.
The bright colours are evident throughout
Furniture is from an eclectic mix of designers, including blue clay stools by Dutch designer Maartin Baas and Whistler leather furniture. Studio Lore also chose a 1950s style seat in the Seletti Lipstick arm chair from the range upholstered in surreal fashion by design magazine Toiletpaper.
The space is designed to offer a relaxed lounge feel during the day, where people can grab coffees and snacks, or sit and work on a laptop, and by night the cocktail bar’s pink neon and separate entrance offers a different atmosphere – and one where the cocktails get their chance to shine.
