{"id":272223,"date":"2026-01-12T08:45:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T13:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/interiordesign.net\/?post_type=canvasflow&p=272223"},"modified":"2026-01-14T11:27:18","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T16:27:18","slug":"studio-paolo-ferrari-designs-peridot-bar-in-hong-kong","status":"publish","type":"id_project","link":"https:\/\/interiordesign.net\/projects\/studio-paolo-ferrari-designs-peridot-bar-in-hong-kong\/","title":{"rendered":"Studio Paolo Ferrari Designs A Theatrical Bar In Hong Kong"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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At Peridot bar in Hong Kong by Studio Paolo Ferrari, a prefabricated plywood shell has been coated in colored plaster, CNC-cut, and studded with custom LED diodes.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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January 12, 2026<\/p>\n\n\n

Words: <\/span>Rebecca Dalzell\ufeff<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photography: <\/span>Virgile Simon Bertrand\ufeff<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Studio Paolo Ferrari Designs A Theatrical Bar In Hong Kong<\/h1>\n\n\n

What makes a great bar? <\/strong>You might think of a low-ceilinged room with tightly packed tables, warm lighting, an attentive bartender, and good energy. For designer Paolo Ferrari, there\u2019s also a theatrical quality. \u201cAt Bemelmans in New York or High Five in Tokyo, anyone working behind the bar is a showman, and guests watch them perform,\u201d the Studio Paolo Ferrari<\/a> founder and principal says. A great bar, in other words, forges an emotional connection with its patrons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two years ago, Ferrari got the chance to formulate such a place in Hong Kong. Henderson Land Development Company<\/a> tapped his firm to conceive a cocktail lounge on the 38th floor of the Henderson, a 39-story tower in the financial district by Zaha Hadid Architects. The futuristic office building has a curved glass facade evoking the local bauhinia flower, and the interiors had to feel similarly forward-looking. \u201cThe client was focused on launching something exciting and different that could transition from day to night,\u201d Ferrari continues. SPF\u2019s fresh approach and broad portfolio\u2014including the interiors of Desert Rock, a luxury resort in Saudi Arabia\u2014made it a good fit for the project.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Behind The Design of Peridot Bar In Hong Kong<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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At Peridot bar in Hong Kong by Studio Paolo Ferrari, a prefabricated plywood shell has been coated in colored plaster, CNC-cut, and studded with custom LED diodes.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

His team began by unpacking the idea of a bar. \u201cIt\u2019s a typology rooted in nostalgia,\u201d Ferrari observes. \u201cIt\u2019s funny that here we are in 2025, and it\u2019s common to design a bar that feels like it\u2019s in the 1950\u2019s. We wanted to subvert that.\u201d The challenge was to fashion something innovative, immersive, and transporting that retained the comforting emotional cues we seek in a place for drinking and social connection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a ceiling height of approximately 9 feet, the 1,600-square-foot space lent itself to a cozy, cocoonlike concept. SPF divided it into two rooms, a main seating area and a semi-hidden back lounge, with the bar in between. Ferrari wrapped the interior in a prefabricated, bendable plywood shell that blurs the line between wall and ceiling and alludes to the rounded forms of the tower\u2019s exterior. The millwork is coated in colored plaster\u2014there\u2019s no drywall\u2014and polished steel frames portals between the rooms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The plaster is a greenish yellow SPF calls olivine. \u201cWe spent a lot of time obsessing over this color, testing the entire spectrum, because it had to be unexpected,\u201d Ferrari says. \u201cWe drew inspiration from nature, its layering, its shifting spectrum of greens.\u201d The hint of yellow gives the establishment a golden quality by day, when it\u2019s open for lunch and tea. The entire interior became swathed in the shade, including the window treatments, carpet, and Korean marble\u2013clad men\u2019s restroom. Appropriately, the 62-seat project was later named Peridot, after the green gemstone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shades Of Olivine Coat The Interiors<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Polished stainless steel frames a portal leading to a custom bottle display.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The stone throughout is green Korean marble.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The curves defining the 1,600-square-foot project echo those on the exterior of the Henderson, the futuristic glass tower by Zaha Hadid Architects where Peridot is on the 38th floor. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

It was crucial to generate a warm, inviting mood. \u201cWhen you close your eyes and think about the bars that stay with you, there\u2019s often a glowing amber light,\u201d Ferrari continues. \u201cWe leaned into that idea\u2014and completely abstracted it.\u201d SPF covered the walls and ceilings in a matrix of lights reminiscent of Yayoi Kusama\u2019s illusory Infinity Mirror Rooms. CNC-cut circles in the plywood shell contain LED diodes for 20,000 custom lights, acrylic rods capped in polished stainless steel. \u201cThe steel pushes the light back on the wall and forms a slight glow around it,\u201d Ferrari explains. Without that piece of metal, he adds, the rooms would feel overwhelmingly bright.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was a simple idea but complicated to achieve,\u201d he admits. \u201cThe light-mapping was quite complex.\u201d His designers worked with a lighting consultant to fine-tune the execution, ensuring the drivers could be dimmed to below 1 percent to keep the illumination soft and integrating downlights so the light quality isn\u2019t flat. The color temperature shifts from cool to warm throughout the day. At night, Peridot mirrors the twinkling lights in the Hong Kong skyline, creating a timeless, romantic atmosphere that hits those emotional notes. \u201cEven your grandmother should feel great here,\u201d Ferrari adds. During the day, the polished stainless steel of the round and oval cocktail tables reflects the surrounding towers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The stagelike bar.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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A custom lamp in handblown glass.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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A single LED illuminating each of the 60 bottles in the custom cooler.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The aesthetic may seem over the top, but there\u2019s also a level of restraint. Inspired by minimalist sculptors like Donald Judd and Walter De Maria, Ferrari enjoys taking something simple and repeating it: \u201cWe do the most with the least,\u201d he says. The pared-down palette is largely composed of familiar materials like steel, stone, and wool, but they\u2019re presented in surprising ways. Take the marble wine display that faces the back lounge. Aiming to transcend function, Ferrari conceived a case where bottles rest on angled, cantilevered stainless-steel fins integrated with more LED diodes. They shine like jewels in a bank vault.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The green marble bar itself is another standout. SPF installed polished stainless steel on the ceiling and walls around it to visually and acoustically amplify the action. Here, the illuminated plywood shell acts as a proscenium arch, as mixologists shake craft cocktails spiked with ingredients like sweet potato shochu, durian cordial, and (naturally) chartreuse. Also surprising, there are no barstools. Guests take in the show from the lounge\u2019s plush seating upholstered in mohair or alpaca velvet, one of the colorways called citrine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tap Into Design Drama and Nostalgia At Peridot Bar\u00a0<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Custom wool carpet is throughout as well.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Encased in frosted-acrylic rods capped in polished stainless steel, the 20,000 diodes shift from a cool daytime shade to warm at night.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The lounge\u2019s custom seating is composed of sofas upholstered in alpaca velvet and mohair-covered chairs. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Framed by cotton-velvet curtains, views of neighboring towers are reflected in a polished stainless\u2013steel table, also custom.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Cantilevered steel fins hold the wine bottles.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Above chrome-finished Uno sink fittings in a restroom, additional LEDs ring custom mirrors.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
project team<\/h6><\/div>\n\n\n\n

STUDIO PAOLO FERRARI: <\/strong>JOANNA WENDERSKA; JOHN GAITAN; CRAWFORD NOBLE; RAJESHTA JULATUM; MAMI KOMIYAMA; THOMAS MOORE; MARK GENTILE; LUCAS STANOIS; SARAH YAO; LUKAS CHAN; CAT DELA CRUZ; JAYHON DAI; TARA BERTRIM:\u00a0STUDIO PAOLO FERRARI.\u00a0INVERSE LIGHTING DESIGN:<\/strong>\u00a0LIGHTING DESIGN.\u00a0LEGEND INTERIORS:<\/strong>\u00a0CUSTOM FURNITURE WORKSHOP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PRODUCT SOURCES <\/h6><\/div>\n\n\n\n

FROM FRONT<\/strong>
AXOR:<\/strong>\u00a0SINK FITTINGS (RESTROOM).\u00a0THROUGHOUT\u00a0TAI PING:<\/strong>\u00a0CUSTOM CARPET.\u00a0HOLLY HUNT; VERANDA:<\/strong>\u00a0UPHOLSTERY FABRIC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


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