Premier Hospitality

JMDA – The Brass Haus and The Red Lion

Written by Roma Publications

JMDA – The Brass Haus and The Red Lion

JMDA is an Interior Design practice that specialises in the hospitality and leisure industries. The company is driven by the simple philosophy of delivering ‘creativity that works’ to bring your vision to life.

The company has a strong relationship with some of the biggest names in the UK hospitality sector and boasts an extensive portfolio of projects that highlights the design talents of a highly-skilled team.

One such relationship is with leading restaurant, bar and pub operator Mitchells & Butlers. JMDA completed many projects for them with two standout spaces earlier this year. To find out more, PREMIER HOSPITALITY MAGAZINE spoke to JMDA Associate Designer Lauren Milner.

The Brass Haus

“Brass Haus is part of Mitchells & Butlers High Street brand. High Street brand venues are mainly mid-market and predominantly drink lead. This site hadn’t been refurbished for about 15 years and the client was looking to up the clientele and focus on music more than sport.

“The scheme that we created was a venue space. There’s now a stage with a large screen behind, trestle tables for standing drinking and some really large party booths. Ultimately the idea was to try and attract a new clientele in a music-led environment and really open up the space for a more comfortable experience.

“We get a lot of creative freedom with a project like this and were able to develop a new concept. We looked at the current clientele and who they wanted to target. We also looked at the history of the site and the area, and then developed the concept from there.”

Lauren and the JMDA team were working on the project for approximately a year and a half. As a street-fronted site, there is a high volume of foot traffic walking past. Taking advantage of this, at the entrance is a glazed bi-fold door and the outdoor has been brought in. This includes tiled flooring with a pattern, overhead greenery, fixed seating with green leathers and a large mural on the wall related to the music.

As you move through the space there is a massive bespoke lighting canopy that drags you into the centre. To the left of that is more of a dining area with low-level seating. In the main bar area the space has been opened up. The bar has arch details that are mirrored on the opposite side with neon brass lettering, arch details and large booths between each one of those arches.

The Red Lion

“The Red Lion is a different Mitchells & Butlers brand – Premium Country Pubs (PCP). It’s in the city centre of Oxford with a large student clientele but a totally different offering to Brass Haus. It’s high-end with cocktails, an opulent menu and facilitates both daytime and evening trade. The brief was to create that edge and elegance the site was lacking and draw people back to the popular establishment.

“It was already trading as a PCP but was a little bit rundown and dull in terms of the design.  The team on this project was lead by Senior Design Manager Zoe Coates and they created a really vibrant environment with some really eye-catching pieces.

“As you enter the space there is a standout meet and greet unit. It’s bright yellow with a marble effect top. This really draws people to that area. There is also a standalone fixed seating element with four booths off one central piece. It’s changed the space by allowing us to have a bar area on one side and dining/drinking to the other side. The Bathrooms at this site were a huge space to be tackled with and the team excelled in creating dry vanity units with illuminated mirrors, cladding the walls with patterned wallpapers and creating a fancy seating area, they really are a must see!”

Lauren concluded:

“On both sites we’ve really pushed the design and taken them to the next level, this came with its challenges but we faced them head on.  It’s really important for us to be able to work on projects like this. We have two separate teams that work on the High Street and PCP brands within JMDA. We treat them as separate clients almost. We have a really good working relationship and are always encouraged to push the boundaries, which of course we love!”

To view more projects from JDMA, please visit www.jmdaltd.co.uk.

JMDA

 

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Roma Publications