AOM Dining Club's Reclaimed Materials Evoke A Timeless Old Colonial Memories

As the current pandemic situation evokes a shifting preference of Indonesians from indoors to outdoor spaces, it results in an idea to transform a sheltered empty rooftop of a mixed building in Bandung into a speakeasy restaurant and bar. AOM Dining Club aims for timelessness by bringing nostalgia and romance into a rooftop space that serves fusion Asian cuisine, desserts, and cocktails.

The dining club consists of three main seating areas: the dining and bar area under a repetition form of brick arches; the elevated VIP area, which resembles a living room, surrounding a music band stage; and the rooftop seating on top of the kitchen. 

Each area seeks to respect the process of remembering our home and evoke emotional connection through a multi-sensory experience by implementing reclaimed bricks and timber from colonial buildings as its primary materials. The interior mainly uses a combination of worn-out and honest materials to build texture, depth, specific richness, and timelessness. 

The entrance from the stairs and elevator access is designed as a circular foyer area where it leads to a short trip through a line of curved wine cellars. These wine cellars are designed with infinite illusion using one-way glass and mirrors, giving tunneling effects with numerous wine bottles.

A repetition of architectural arches stretches across the width of the dining room, positioned lower than the existing glass roof to fill in the high ceiling space and create an intimate atmosphere for the evening bar. Reclaimed bricks from an old colonial building with their original stamps are preserved and reused as the surface of the arches. Tiles and terracotta floors with the basket-weave pattern are implemented in the dining and VIP area. Additionally, the bespoke furniture and tables were crafted by utilising reclaimed teak woods with numerous minor scratches.

In the creation of an emotional space, a multi-sensory experience is presented by the interplay of other elements supporting the interior, including live jazz music, the water sound from the centre fountain, the spread and smell of bougainvillea flowers on the wall, the atmosphere of dimming lights, and the gentle breeze blowing through the window openings.

Three glowing chandeliers are hung between the arches, contradicting the weariness of surrounding materials and reflecting the romantic night lights. Old radio, TV, books, gramophones, and postcards are collected from the local vintage store as an embodiment of the reality of past life.

Going further inside, a classic spiral staircase leads to an open rooftop dining, accentuated with commissioned artwork of an ivory caravan stuck between cactus trees by Eddi Prabandono. The outdoor tables are made by Walk The Plank with baroque carved details cast on an iron base, combined with some other picnic tables for group seating with a spectacular city view of Bandung.