Headed North Design Studio emblem — arc, mountain triangle and horizon bars HEADED NORTH design studio
What The Ale at night — brick arches lit from behind, a teal banquette, and the spiral stair rising to the mezzanine
Hospitality · Electronic City, Bangalore · Interiors

What The Ale

Type
Restaurant & brewery
Location
Electronic City, Bangalore
Size
15,000 sq ft
Status
Built 2019
Layout
Exploded axonometric of the brewery across three levels, fully annotated

The brewery pulled apart: tensile roof tents on top, MS and glass beneath, furniture and circulation below. The bar is the central point; the fritters counter hides the existing staircase.

Hand-drawn section through the four existing roof domes

Section through the four kept domes: kitchen, counter, bar, indoor and outdoor seating. The note against the window line is blunt — not a good view outside.

Early hand section showing airflow, the focal area and the stage

An earlier section, working out air and light: the air-conditioned room for private parties at one end, the focal area in the middle, the stage at the far end.

The bar
Line drawing of the bar as the central focal point with the deck above

The bar drawn as the centre of the room, with the upper deck reading as a gallery over it.

Elevation of the back bar in teal banding with a long bottle display

The back bar in elevation: teal banding above and below, and one long rounded timber frame holding two rows of bottles.

The stage
Line sketch of the stage and its gridded backdrop

The stage, sketched against the grid that would become its backdrop.

Colour concept view of the stage facing the main road

The same stage in colour, facing the main road, with planting cascading either side of the lit grid.

Working drawing of the stage backdrop in elevation and section

The backdrop drawn to build: an armourcoat grid in beige, cove lights throwing light onto a lightbox behind, and a brass outline to the stage front.

Working drawing of the custom terrace bench and table

The terrace tables, drawn from scratch: nearly eleven feet long, a polished textured cement top with three-inch wooden bracing all round.

Building it
Three coloured glass samples held up on site

Glass chosen on site — olive, teal and amber, the colours that end up in the roof.

Geometric cement tiles being selected on site

And the floor tiles, cut in triangles of grey, white and orange.

Conical light shades being duco sprayed on the terrace

The cone shades sprayed by hand on the terrace, sunset colours worked wet into one another.

A finished duco-painted panel in orange and blue

The same finish carried onto a panel, newspaper still masking the windows behind.

The bar under construction beneath the hanging timber sculpture

The bar going in under bamboo scaffolding, with the timber sculpture already hung above it.

Carpenters assembling the terrace table frames on site

The terrace tables built on site, frame by frame, to that drawing.

As built
The brick arches lit from within their reveals, a teal chesterfield banquette and the spiral stair beyond

The room the arches make. Brick lit from inside the reveals, a teal chesterfield along the wall, and the spiral stair at the end.

The finished venue from the deck above, looking down over the bar

From the deck: the bar at the centre, the chequer floor, and the mezzanine's stained glass above it — the gallery view the plan was after.

The open seating area with the spiral stair and hanging timber sculpture

The open seating, with the spiral stair doing its second job as the most photographed thing on site.

The lit stage backdrop seen from the bar at dusk

The backdrop lit at dusk, exactly as the section drew it — a wall of light behind the band, planting hung across it.

The mezzanine under the tensile dome with arched stained-glass windows

The mezzanine under one of the kept domes, arched windows glazed in blue and yellow, palms throwing shadows on the tent above.

The open terrace with the custom tables under a pergola

And the terrace, where those tables ended up.