OPNNG
Location : Seoul, Korea
Completed Date : July, 2021
Category : Bar
Photo : Donggyu Kim
A place that is sincere about ‘taste’.
We believe that the pursuit of beauty is the essence of design. Even when the object of design is a space, that essence remains unchanged. However, the standards of beauty are different for each project. The purpose may be to produce sparkling results, but it may also be to make something within those results shine. This project was started with the latter purpose. We decided that space itself would be the solid background in the back row of everything related to the space.
On the surface, OPNNG is a bar where guests can enjoy wine. And if you think deeply its meaning, the place has an essence that goes beyond its superficial meaning as a bar. OPNNG is for the deep and long-term creations, not short-term pleasure and expendables that can be seen all around us. In other words, it is a space to share good tastes with people and enjoy them together. This is why the main drink is wine, and the reason why artworks that the artists have put their passion and soul into are dotted around the place. Furniture and lighting, which have been loved by the people for a long time, are also in harmony, and sound and taste also fill the space with a sense of sincerity. As a designer, we deliberated extensively on how the space of OPNNG should be, but it was clear that it was an extremely meaningful task.
Yield, willingness to give up one's place.
In the spaces that we have designed, most of the protagonists have been the users of the space. We hoped to see the outcomes of design of the space right behind this. We thought that the space at OPNNG could stand behind everything related to the bar. Also, the space needs to be standing with just the right amount of atmosphere that is neither too much nor too little, so as not to take away from the things that are filling the space.
At OPNNG, there are artworks by artists who are leading Korean art in the modern era. The structure and atmosphere of the space is unraveled with the slogan "If you enjoy wine in the gallery.” The structure of the space had to be simplified for the artworks, and the image of the materials and lighting that greatly affect the atmosphere of the space were also selected as reference points. As a result, it seems that the original function of the bar and the function of the ambiguous image of the gallery were contradictory, while also seeming to breathe a subtle and vaguely chilling ambience into the air.
Image
We think that what appears on the surface of a space can be very fragmentary when looking at it from certain viewpoints. It is extremely important to express what is shown by the function or target destination of the space; however, when you dig a little deeper and look into the space, when you are standing in that space, the feeling of using the space is also an important means for users, operators, and designers to remember the space for a long period of time. We hope that OPNNG can be a space that compresses that image and conveys it to customers.
