Mint Nightclub
James Street, Northbridge, Western Australia
An award-winning vision for a unique club, where patrons can come for a relaxed night out – without taking it all too seriously!
Completed: 2007
Size: 190m/sq
Awards: RAIA WA Chapter Architecture Awards 2008 Interiors – Commendation
Filters: Additions & Alterations / Awards / Hospitality / Interiors / Urban
In the nightclub business, there’s a fine line between creating a distinctive space for patrons and making yourself too ‘exclusive’ for a good night out. The owners of Mint, in Northbridge’s famous nightlife precinct, wanted to bring the space back to the heart of what a nightclub should be: a relaxed place for people to enjoy themselves and let their guard down in a social setting.
Our inspiration came from something which gives us all comfort – the concept of home – and from there into the fascinating world of suburbia. We took an irreverent approach to suburban icons like picket fences, lawn and garden gnomes, with domestic lighting and some tongue-in-cheek kitsch, like wall-mounted flying kookaburras. We turned many of these everyday items on their heads or recreated them in stark white to give patrons a flash of the unexpected in familiar things. The effect is humorous, unpretentious and disarming, offering the comfortable alongside the surprising, and the everyday alongside the ridiculous.
The club’s furnishings are in keeping with the suburban theme, a combination of comfortable leather lounges, open banquettes and white novelty armchairs. We maintained a clean, sophisticated feel with finishes in a dominant palette of warm timber panelling, gold tones and a dark ceiling. Bright wallpapers and vivid artificial lawn add texture and colour alongside flashes of luxurious marble and onyx. The owners were thrilled with the results and the unique fit-out saw Mint win a Commendation at the RAIA WA Chapter Architecture Awards in 2008.