Kokomo – Design Focus
THE Glasgow club scene has a new player with the opening of city centre club KOKOMO on West Regent Street. Fraser Wilson went along to see the venue for himself.
Glasgow’s club scene remains full to the brim. But, with the increase in the number of late night entertainment licenses for bars across the city, standing out from the crowd and appealing to customers is now harder than ever.
The latest venture from the owners of Bamboo and Bunker, KOKOMO is geared certainly a ‘classy joint’. They say the club is a new interpretation of the nightclub and bar concept offering “bar, club, music and bites”.
As you walk in through the glass fronted double doors on West Regent Street, a high finish black tiled step stands out with gold lettering of the club name, before a feature wall takes your eyes from the ceiling down the winding stair case to the club entrance. An array of wooden K, O, and M letters, different shades and sizes, make up the impressive wall, which grabs your attention from the moment you step inside.
As you come down the stairs into the club, which was designed by Surface ID, a warm, gold glow greets you. Broaching the threshold further, the eye is taken to the right of the room, as three cage like, wrought iron booths dominate one half of the room, reminiscent of something from an extravagant Vegas club.
To the left a long, sweeping L-shape bar draws the eye to the back of the room. As you turn to the left, there is a large seating area which includes unusual mirrored prism shapped posing tables, a fitted seating area, which is lavishly upholstered in gold. The seats give feature light gold leather trianglular panels rising like a sun from the black leather base of the banquette. Behind these booths, white, 3D diamond clad wall features are lit by spotlights, with a light beige wallpaper supporting this.
The kitchen and service area to the is also located in this area, and renowned burger specialists, Buddies, has been tasked with supplying the burgers. The area is quite unassuming.
In contrast there is a spacious dance floor, which definitely stands out, surrounded by benches and tabled booths.
The main features of the room are the pillared, circled booths, with customers having to walk round, away from the main dance floor, to gain entrance to them. These provide a secluded seating area, and again have a highend luxury feel with gold leatherlike uphostery, and dinky silver stools with small round reflective tables. The Parlour VIP is situated further through, and offers revellers a more private area to enjoy their evening. The sultry decor is complimented by high-end spirits and Champagne. Access to this comes at the end of the long, main bar, with a compact, well-lit corridor taking customers towards the VIP area on the left and the toilets further down on the right.
The Parlour includes two seated areas, its own bar, sound system and intimate party atmosphere. Dark wooden floors merge with dark leather booths, offset by silver barrel like stools and vibrant red cushions.
Squared shelving, well lit and with a full back mirror and spotlights, house expensive bottles of Champagne, and mirrored panels on the ceiling feature red strip lights. Detailed wood panelling offers an element of interest and texture to the walls, whilst the sizeable floor space allows for groups to mingle and dance.
Throughout the venue the lighting is subtle, but yet manages to highlight the clubs distinctive features.
Back in the main room, to the right of the DJ booth, more seating is available, with a punchy purple wallpaper and paint coating the ceiling, whilst a number of lights provide a feature for dancers, as they strobe on and off during the DJ set.
The creators here have produced a spacious, easy to navigate club, with a large dance floor and plenty of seating.
There is no doubt about it this is a club which has some unusual features. It offers a modern take on art deco, with its use of shapes and colours, but offers a great space – combining comfortable seating areas with enough room to enjoy a dance too. Glasgow’s club scene could have a new heir to the throne.
Throughout his career Mark shunned the spotlight, despite being the creative force behind many of Glasgow’s most successful clubs – including Bunker and Bamboo. Mark’s business partner and friend Brian McIlvaney says, “What I will miss most about him is his humour. He was a shy man until you got to know him, but once you did, you got to see how funny he was. He had a dry wit, and he was also incredibly sharp. In the twelve years that we worked together, we never had a cross word. He did prefer to work behind the scenes and wasn’t particularly showy. “