Bradley+Basso Studio

Art Deco Stained Glass ‘Reinvented’.
Hawksmoor Air Street entrance foyer leads to a stunning marble staircase ascending to the cocktail bar and restaurant occupying the long first floor of Regent Street’s grand crescent. It is an ode to elegance and sophistication, inspired by the rich art deco heritage of Piccadilly opposite the Café Royal.
The focal point of the bar and restaurant is created by the dramatic design of ten large arched windows, also inspired by the building’s heritage and interior design ‘art deco reinvented.’ The choice of glass used was selected on site in relation to the variable light transmission at different times of day and night and also for its affect on the high activity of the Regent Street backdrop.
They are a combination of stained glass and acid etched techniques using mostly textural and tonal combinations to fragment the view, which opens the restaurant to the city and becomes a point of interaction between the inside and outside.
The movement of people and traffic beyond is experienced as an animation of the visually fragmented glass surface as they bridge the gap between heritage and contemporary state-of-the-art design. At night with the added benefit of floodlighting to opposite buildings, together with the moving lights of traffic, the windows provide a glowing almost kinetic light-show as the glass qualities become intensified.