Sam speaks with Cake Architecture’s Hugh Moncrieff on collaboration, creation and celebration.

SOMA is one of those seductive bars that seems to call to you. Behind an unassuming door on a side street in Soho, SOMA transports you to another world, as all good bars should. 

As you enter the room you’re confronted by a majestic 9-meter, hand-finished, steel table. It seems to open its arms and softly whisper ‘Come sit here and enjoy the company’. The tabletop has five ice wells discreetly sunk into its top, which are for sharing bottles. Everything about this place makes you want to put your phone away and enjoy real-life, human interaction. A thick fabric wraps the deep blue walls of the space, concealing or revealing smaller private nooks for couples and groups. There is a warmth that is comfortable, almost dangerous, as though you could easily lose track of time in here.

The first venture into the bar world from Rik Campbell and Will Bowlby, the guys behind the incredible Kricket restaurants, SOMA also draws its inspiration, however abstractly, from India. The drinks use strong, bold, and perhaps unfamiliar flavours to transport guests on a journey through the diversity of flavours so present on the sub-continent. 

Behind Bars were lucky enough to be invited into the project quite early, with the first images we saw being of what looked like a hastily exited basement sushi restaurant. The transformation from those first images to what it is today is a testament in large part to Cake Architecture’s Hugh Moncrieff and his vision of what the space could become. 

Cake Architecture is a small band of creative, like-minded people, with skills and experience across a range of industries from architecture to interior design, to music and fashion. They’ve worked and are working on projects that encompass a range of styles and ambitions from a listed residence in Dorset, a new build house in Essex, to commercial and residential projects in and around London. On this project, SOMA was very much about transforming this otherwise unremarkable den of a venue, into something quite spectacular.

As Hugh explains:  

“I’ve known both Rik and Will for some time, in fact, we’re old friends. When this venue became available Rik got in touch and we went to have a look. At that time the space was all cut up with partitions and interior walls and so our very first thoughts were that we wanted to create as open a space as possible.  

My initial vision was a surface around which many people could gather. This was the base spatial concept. And given how the venue is, with smaller rooms off to the side, we created this idea of the curtain and the counter. Two simple interventions that would define this space of shared celebration but with the curtain being flexible we could open up the venue to reveal more possibilities. 

After looking at the space, we went to visit some reference projects in London, one of which was Tayer/ Elementary. We spoke with Alex and Monica and they put us on to Behind Bars and we got in touch quite quickly thereafter.”  

Hugh again:  

“It was a collaboration in the true sense of the word. Behind Bars not only designed, produced, and installed this amazing, unique piece, but also contributed to the overall aesthetic of the venue. The flushed, kitchen counter style of the bar stations and the integrated ice buckets which they suggested really are fundamental elements of what we were trying to achieve, which was a kind of otherworldly space, somewhere many people could come together and celebrate.   

The biggest challenge was translating our vision of the space into a physical venue. We really wanted to use materials to help create the personality of the venue and were able to collaborate with our very good friend Max Radford whose knowledge of finishes, furniture, and fittings is really quite special. We had an idea of the space and certain ideas on how it might be finished but his depth of knowledge allowed us to realise our vision using materials that are maybe atypical. The fabric for the curtain, for example, is an upholstery fabric generally used on sofas and cushions. The tiles surrounding the table are normally used outdoors for buildings and pavements and really helped us to create this unique space, a kind of midnight piazza, a kind of outdoor space with a tent-like fabric around you. 

We wanted to eliminate all internal partitions so guests could experience the space as a whole, or break that down and we thought this would work well aesthetically but also contribute to how the space functions. It means that the team working could very quickly break the room down to accommodate private groups. So already we’re seeing these two very elemental, spatial ideas working as they should and I am really happy that it’s doing so.” 

Our first impressions when we were introduced to the team and the project? 

This was a really strong group to be a part of. Rik, as well as keeping their 3 restaurants running smoothly was on pretty much every call, providing not only a wealth of relevant knowledge but also his vision on how the space would function. Will Rogers, Head of Beverage for Kricket, the same. I have long email threads with Will going through every aspect of how this station would function, how it would interact with the room, and how the ambitious drinks concept could be delivered quickly and consistently. We love this level of input and interaction when we’re creating a station. And then of course Hugh, whose unwavering commitment to the design vision of the venue, combined with an openness to solving challenges where design and function might clash, meant that the result is pretty damn near perfect.

SOMA is the type of project that really highlights how a diverse project team can click in just the right way to create something amazing. 

A massive congratulations to Hugh, Rik, Will and their teams.  SOMA is really a great venue.

SOMA SOHO 

12 Denman St Soho, London 

Tue/Thu - 6pm – 1am 

Fri/Sat  - 6pm – 3am 

www.somasoho.com

www.cake-architecture.com