Founded by Mark Bithrey in 2002, B3 Designers is an award-winning, innovative design practice specialising in the creation of great brand experiences that not only deliver but exceed expectations.
The studio believes that every project is completely unique, irrespective of size, budget or location and this is what has led B3 Designers to become a leading name within the industry.
Past projects for B3 Designers have included Imli Street restaurant; The Pearson Room restaurant, Canary Wharf; the Italian kitchen/bar Paesan in Exmouth Market; and Gymkhana in Mayfair. In addition to this, B3 Designers were behind Bubbledogs & The Kitchen Table, the gourmet hotdog and champagne bar which recently took home the award for Best Standalone Restaurant in the Restaurant & Bar Design Awards 2013.
The Best Standalone Restaurant was a hotly contested category with MASH and 28-50 among the venues fighting it out. Commenting on the award, Mark Bithrey, said:
“We are delighted to have won the Best Standalone Restaurant category for The Kitchen Table/Bubbledogs.”
Bubbledogs is an interesting offering serving up champagne and hotdogs – or ‘haute’ dogs as they are now becoming known, whilst the rear of the restaurant includes The Kitchen Table, a private dining area.
B3 Designers were approached by husband and wife team, James Knappett and Shandia Chang, to develop the interiors of the venue, which include an industrial style kitchen with a stainless steel dining counter. Additional features include timber wall cladding and rustic walls and doors.
As well as winning awards, B3 Designers were also behind the recent re-launch of Imli Street, an Indian eatery located in Wardour Street, Soho. The restaurant opened in April 2013, following a complete redesign and rebrand conducted by B3 Designers.
Part of the Tamarind Collection and sister site to the Michelin starred Tamarind of Mayfair, Imli Street serves a unique menu inspired by Indian street cuisines, including coastal shacks, food carts and railway cuisine. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, Imli Street’s menu was developed by the Tamarind Collection’s multi-award winning director of cuisine, Alfred Prasad.
The brief for Imli Street was to create an interior with a street food look, a casual space, which still retains the element of comfort and sophistication in which people want to spend their time in. The space was completely opened up (300 sq m in total), stripped back to expose the brickwork and completed with a centralised feature bar, soft seating and contemporary furnishings.
Mark commented:
“We wanted to create a space that would capture the raw, industrial details of a street food scene yet retain a sense of warmth, comfort and sophistication.”
Following on from the successful completion of Imli Street, B3 Designers created The Pearson Room, a new restaurant and bar situated in the heart of Canary Wharf. The 600 sq m space takes inspiration from 1950’s Hitchcock films and includes heritage leather seating, a large zinc bar and boasts stunning views onto Canada Square.
The Sethi family, owners of the award-winning restaurant Trishna, called upon B3 Designers to design and brand the space which forms part of The Reebok Sports Club. The restaurant includes a centralised pewter bar, surrounded by 18 industrial style bar stools, as well as a lounge area and exposed industrial light fittings.
Mark commented:
“Our approach was to create a warm and cosy space through use of lighting and materials, this approach also formed a nice contrast to many current offers in the Canary Wharf area, which are very slick and polished. We wanted to create a space that was premium, yet still intimate and accessible.”
Additional works from B3 Designers include Paesan and the recently launched Gymkhana. Paesan is the first solo venture from Antony Brown, whilst Gymkhana continues B3 Designers’ working relationship with the Sethi family.
For Paesan, B3 Designers created a 100m² dining space using raw materials that is set over two floors. The stripped back interior embraces the building’s original features with exposed brickwork and structural steels, complimented by reclaimed timbers and tiling with antique-style furnishings.
Meanwhile, Gymkhana is a 100-cover restaurant inspired by the Colonial Indian gymkhana clubs, set up by the British Raj, where members of high society came to socialise and play sport. The interior design of Gymkhana references British Raj India with ceiling fans that hang from a dark-lacquered oak ceiling, cut glass wall lamps from Jaipur and hunting trophies from the Maharaja of Jodhpur.
Reminiscent of the gymkhana clubs, the dining room is flanked by turned oak booths with marble tables and fluted, bitter chocolate leather banquettes. Brass edged tables and rattan chairs punctuate the dining space, which is embellished with Punch sketches and Indian sports prints and divided by lead framed, mottled glass screens.
Commenting on Gymkhana, Mark said:
“This was our fourth project with the Sethi brothers and family; we were thrilled to be working in close collaboration with such visionary clients. One of the biggest challenges was creating a defined and impactful shop-front on Albemarle Street, particularly with it being in Westminster, as we had limited space. We were able to do this by creating a strong brand identity as well as a simple and striking colour pallet, which created a distinct shop-front. It was great to have our interior and brand team working in close collaboration on aspects like this.”
With more quirky and unique projects in the pipeline, expect to see more from B3 Designers as they continue to put their stamp on some of the most prestigious sites within the hospitality sector.
For more information about B3 Designers, please visit: www.b3designers.co.uk.
