The ECQ Bar features some of the most expansive views of Sydney Harbour Bridge and Circular Quay. It is an ideal spot to catch up with friends and colleagues at the end of a busy day, or to simply relax over a quiet drink or light meal. The ECQ Bar is managed by Mirvac Hotel & Resorts, one of the largest Australian owned hotel groups.

Jayne Hamparsum Design Pty Ltd was approached by Ruwan Peiris and Paul Donnelly of Mirvac Hotels with a brief about a year ago, and they had numerous meetings of what they wanted to achieve with a refurbishment, and Jayne Hamparsum put forward a design concept and budget which then subsequently went ahead.

The ECQ Bar had not really been refurbished since it opened approximately twelve years ago so it was looking very tired and bland, and the hotel wanted to revitalize and contemporize the space and reinvent itself with a completely new look. Plus they needed to be competitive in the market with new bars around the area. They wanted to give the space a new look, though still retaining its existing shell and the main fixed finishes, that would have been cost prohibitive to change, like the granite floor, and some of the bar, plus they wanting the design to compliment the existing hotel.

ECQ Bar is above the bustling Circular Quay with its breathtaking views of the Quay and Sydney’s magnificent harbour. The floor to ceiling glass windows open the whole space up and maximise this view.

” I wanted to achieve a stylish sophisticated chic bar with a relaxed contemporary classical design element to the theme and feel,” said Jayne Hamparsum. “As the location of the bar is so spectacular with the dramatic backdrop of Sydney’s magnificent harbour, I wanted to keep the internal space clean and not too busy with too much pattern and colour. Therefore the only pattern in the space is on the carpet and rugs, which also brings in movement and colour.

“With the design of the space I wanted to have a carpet that has movement and an older contemporary classic design that was not off the shelf design seen everywhere else. To create that contemporary classic look, I was looking through the design selections withWhitecliffe Imports and found the floral scroll motif in a different colour way, and felt that this design would work very well with the rest of the scheme and create an impact on the floor I was wanting to create.”

A HTW custom carpet was chosen for this project primarily due to the timing as HTW can manufacture the carpet and have it flown into Australia within five weeks.

“The ECQ bar is facing due west and in the afternoon it has a lot of sun streaming in on the floor, therefore I wanted a carpet that stands up well to the sun and fading,” explained Jayne. “In the design, we also created a slight graduation in the colouring so if there is some fading, which you cannot 100% avoid with the Australian sun, it will look as noticeable as a solid colour, plus the design will also help to disguise any fading as well.”

The accent colour is orange and black inspired by the existing artwork The Artwork “Terra-Nova” by leading Australian artist Marion Borgelt which is located at the end of the bar. Apparently Marion felt inspired
to paint this by the duality of light and dark: that is the constantly changing scene of the harbour’s early morning buzz; the inquisitive mid-morning tourists;  professional minds at lunch; 5pm chic cocktails and of course when it’s time to kick-back and relax – dining, overlooking the hypnotic sparkling waters and twinkling city lights.

The rest of the design pieces work with texture and tone with the mix of black and white and organic lines of the feature dining chairs and armchair pieces, which also bring in a change of scale with variety of pieces. The introduction of the black string cord curtains, also helps to define the space and creating intimacy instead of the bar being a fish bowl and all the hotel looking through it like before.

Lighting helped reinforce Jayne’s design concept especially with the five pendant lights from Mondo Luce over the bar and the accents of the orange LED strip lighting around the bar bulkhead, bar front and the shelving behind the bar. Coloured downlights were installed on either side of the granite columns.

The design is fresh yet has great depth during both day and night, making it suitable for all the different activities the venue caters for.