1 ABOVE: Detailed Decadence

By FinchD

Photography: Courtesy Sumessh Menon Associates

Read Time: 2 mins

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1 ABOVE is a vibrant new addition to Mumbai’s night life, with an avant-garde design, attention to detail and a novel material palette...

Designed by Sumessh Menon of Sumessh Menon Associates, the expansive rooftop bar in the posh neighbourhood of Lower Parel is approached via a landscaped tunnel, fabricated from Tipwood and covered with gauzy nylon mesh. The combination of these different elements heightens intrigue from the word ‘go’ and contributes to creating a space with a mystical ambience.

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The 35-feet long bar, standing on a WPC flooring pedestal forms the focal point of the outdoor space. The backlit counter, embellished with a brickwork pattern in Tipwood, combined with the bar back of wire mesh, mirror and NR, is conceived as a dramatic centre to the space. In addition, a pair of sculptural tree-like installations on either side of its counter adds to the opulence of the alfresco diner. A combination of backlit surfaces, pole lights, and cove lighting, collated with a congenial flooring pattern and a sculptural wall with cut-outs, further enriches the clubbing experience.

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The seating includes high bar tables, cabanas, VIP suites and booths, arranged strategically to accommodate diverse users. Mediating the two distinctly unique private and semi-private spaces is a metal pergola, whilst an arresting synthetic tree stands out, building on the ubiquitous multiplicity.

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Cosy indoor space offsets the alfresco seating, with its plush pod seating, finished in leather and Alaska stone. The polished black flooring, with yellow stone inlays, also reflected on patterns in the ceiling, designed in cement board and copper pattis, lends an elegant appearance to the intimate interiors.

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An indigenous material palette and a nifty application characterises the uniqueness of this highly imaginative open-to-sky space. Knowing Sumessh Menon’s signature style of combining the unlikeliest of materials into a cohesive celebration makes the fine dine identifiable in terms of the designer; although he sustains the constantly reinventing palette with an assortment of fine craft, customized walls and strikingly unique furniture.