Mesa Verde is a new bar located under the Rooftop Cinema and Bar on the sixth floor of Curtin House in central downtown Melbourne city. A ‘vertical laneway of tenements ’ housed in a 1920’s Gotham city style building, with its variety of bars, music venues, restaurants, shops, apartments and even a Kung Fu school is crowned with this latest venue at Curtin House under the guidance of owner Tim Peach.

Inspired by the Sergio Leone film ’Duck you Sucker’ (aka:, ‘A Fistful of Dynamite), the Mesoamerican theme has been translated into a considered yet casual food and drink experience that serves a great Margarita.

The venue has been carefully planned throughout to create a synergy of design, atmosphere and product. The Mexican food by Kath Reed is well matched to the environs, delivered on custom designed plates and cutlery. Menu’s, graphics, posters and identity are a wholly considered item within the overall Mesoamerican offerings. The design and decoration embellish this ethos whilst not trying to be strictly authentic. Even the DJ has a little timber corner in the lounge area to spin Morricone inspired sounds that drift amongst the winds of the upper levels of this downtown iconic building.

The project involved the collaborative efforts of many, principally guided by owner Tim Peach. Consultants and collaborators ranged from Kitchen, Bar experts, service engineers, timber craftsmen, stone masons, cutlery and uniform designers, object, art and antique collectors and of course Tim’s eye for Tequila.

The re fitting of the previous Rooftop Cinema box office and studio space into a bar and restaurant includes new Entry Hall, fully operational Kitchen, Toilets, various Dining areas, an extensive Bar , Lounge and a separate small private Dining Room. Being located on the sixth floor, works had to be carefully planned due to limited access within the busy multi entertainment and commercial operations at Curtin House.

The Entry Hall also serves as an access to the adjacent Kitchen Garden and Worm Farm by Richard Thomas and Kath Reed and the Rooftop Cinema and Bar above.

The existing concrete ceiling, with its multitude of beams was restored and discreetly up lit with custom designed strip LED lighting. The walls have been clad with a panelled dado of oiled Tasmanian Myrtle that reflects the original 1920’s detailing found elsewhere in the building. A recycled Messmate Bar forms the main centrepiece and is enlivened by the backlit Onyx panels to the bar front and bevelled / aged mirrors and display shelves to the rear housing a serious Tequila Bar. Built in banquette seating is complimented by bentwood chairs, high bar stools and tables, velvet curtains and an array of film posters, flickering projected images and antique lanterns all set on an American oak floor.

The colour of the venue is principally the medium to dark timber tones of the wall paneling, flooring, display shelves, tables and bar. Ceilings are an off white. The front door is that special ‘verde’ green chosen by Tim. The feature colours is probably the rich green, brown and orange tones of the backlit onyx to the bar, the Orange leather banquettes and the deep crimson and black curtains.

The use of materials, objects, layout, food, art, music, service and general spaghetti western bar vibe ties the concept together. The attention to detail, product and ongoing branding match very well with the food and drink offerings.

The central backlit bar provides the focus to venue while the bar display is equally important. Subltle wall lights and strip ceiling highlights also give a gentle glow to the venue while original kero laterns and candles set the atmosphere. All the while, a movie projection playing westerns to the rear wall of the Dining area forms a backdrop of moving images.

Mesa Verde exhibits a contemporary response to the idea of bar design in its collaborative and researched implementation strategy. Design notions of reinterpretation, humour, authenticity and memory are delivered and continually evolve with essential input and guidance from the owners, consultants, staff, designers and others. Specialised advice is sought and implemented in the manner of a design advocacy, where the designer’s role of coordination and balancing of the myriad views and opinions is increasingly important. Mesa Verde fully acknowledges the collaborative nature of these complex projects and the changing landscape of a considered and successful hospitality project that hopefully lasts the distance, at least until the credits role by!

Your Sound Investment took care of the audio saying that the design was tricky due to having no ceiling to mount on, only one wall for a surface speaker and nowhere for the Subbass.

Consequently the design is based on what would work in odd locations and this is where the eight Quest HPI-5 and three HPI-25 came into play. They are small, sound nice and go loud.

The HPI-212S was built into the DJ station and the HPI-12S was installed in cabinetry firing in an upward direction. Quest QA3004 and QA2004 power amplifiers drive the system. The end result is good sound with warm bass and plenty of headroom.

For control there is a Cloud Z4, 4 zone Control system, supplied with 4 x RSL-6W wall controls.