With its jewel-like design and position in the lobby of the city’s best hotel, Crown Towers, T.W.R is arguably Melbourne’s most sophisticated hotel bar.

Two years in the making, Neil Perry and the Rockpool Group’s Beverage Director, Linden Pride travelled to some of the world’s most iconic bars, researching the concept for T.W.R.

Their inspiration came from the best and most legendary hotels of Europe and the United States during the post WWII years as well as some of the hippest bars that London and New York have to offer.

“We referenced some of favourite bars in the world - Connaught Hotel, London; Little Branch NYC, Salvatore @50 St James London; Hemmingway Bar Ritz, Paris; PDT NYC; and Pegu Club NYC. The key was to capture the essence of these great bars and recreate what it was that made them so special. After all this time, the one thing that we remember was, the way they made us feel. Super drinks, great food and charming, thoughtful service,” says Pride.

The task of transforming the former retail space into one of the city’s most sophisticated and elegant hotel bars was a challenge welcomed by former Bates Smart architect, Grant Cheyne, in association with David Nock of 1:1 Architects.

Cheyne has worked closely with the Rockpool Group for the past five years, overseeing their recent restaurant developments including Rockpool Bar & Grill Melbourne, Spice Temple in Sydney and Melbourne Rockpool Bar & Grill Sydney, and the refurbishment of Rockpool Sydney.

Inspired by a fine piece of vintage crystal glassware, T.W.R was influenced by the grand hotels of post WWII in Europe and the Americas and aspires to opulence, longevity and comfort.

A place for a cocktail on the way out, a romantic hideaway, or a place of comfort away from home, Perry and Cheyne designed T.W.R to transform from casual lounge during the day to a sophisticated cocktail bar at night.

Respectful and complementary to the soon-to-be refurbished hotel lobby of Crown Towers, T.W.R combines grandeur with intimate detail

Custom-designed fittings and furnishings have been developed to create a unique space and a monumental, formal entrance connects the facetted and mirrored ‘jewel box’ interior with the adjacent hotel lobby.

Back of house connections have been established with Perry’s adjoining Rockpool Bar & Grill and Spice Temple restaurants.

“It was exciting to once again be involved in creating a new venture with Neil. His ability to define a unique formula makes it possible to come up with some suitably fresh ideas, in the absence of which, it may have been just another bar,” says Cheyne.

The tools of light have been used to create an interior filled with drama and contrast.

The use of candles was fundamental to the success of the installation as the candles added a sense of natural movement in the space. The warm glow was designed to add an element of movement in the space, amplifying the reflectivity of the surrounds and filling the interior with a warm, post war lounge ambience.

Directional lighting was utilised to accentuate the palette of textures and colours in the space….directional light sources is used to graze the surface of fabrics to enhance the texture and provide an element of indirect light within the space. Accent lighting is used to reflect off the mosaic mirror tile to paint the surrounding surface with a textured reflection, further enhancing the bevelled mirror surface.

The lighting has been carefully woven into the interior design where with rigorous coordination with the designers, we have detailed the location of each luminaire so as to ensure the lighting forms a part of the space, concealing the light fittings where possible.

Custom-designed pendants were vital in creating the perception of a lower ceiling height within the double height space. The suspended elements lower the scale of the interior and emphasise the club like interior. Each fitting was handcrafted in the Netherlands by Pieter Adams to complement the hand made wall lamps and storm/candle lanterns.