PSP Architects India
Name of the project: Plan B
Name of client: Holy Cow Hospitality
Location: Greams Road, Chennai, India
Built up Area: 2500 sq. ft.
Status: Built
Year of completion: 2015
Design Team: Prerna Pradhan, Sunil Philip
Contractors: Classic Interiors
Photo Credits: Sunil Philip
Concept Text:
Bursting into the Chennai night scene is Plan B, the Dive Bar well known by all who have spent time in Bangalore. Thashvin and Sundeep bring to the Chennai restaurant an unchanged menu from the Bangalore outlets, with signature spicy chicken wings, a bunch of innovative mouthwatering burgers and spunky cocktails.
The designers respond with an urban-industrial look characterized by hand distressed finishes. You walk past a small entry area with “Plan B” etched into the plastered wall, exposing the raw brick behind. This sets the tone for the chiseled brick walls, raw cement finishes and distressed wood paneling.
Like the food, the space has its quirks too. While the Pandi burger takes a traditional Coorg pork curry and marries it to the bun, the bar face is clad with a pattern of geometric Athangudi tiles, taking a traditional tile from the interiors of Tamil Nadu and using it in a very contemporary space. Light fixtures are sculpted out of plumbing pipes complete with vintage flow valves, some of which are picked up in bright colors, and the dimly lit Edison lamps throw a warm glow to the interiors.
A lot of the wall is finished in an exposed cement finish giving it a raw ‘n edgy urban feel. On one of these walls stands a larger than life ‘Rooster decoupage,’ which serves as a popular selfie spot. Running along the rooster wall is a long and spacious community table. This is one of the most popular areas in the restaurant as it can serve a very large group of revelers as well as several smaller groups, which by the end of the night become one large happy community. The table foot rests are once again detailed with plumbing pipes in a manner similar to the light fixtures.
Other than the community table, the restaurant offers customers various seating options. These include the more private booths along one side and a very large island bar which is sprinkled with bar stools all around, some in grey and some punctuated with bright canary yellow. The bent wood and metal stools are reminiscent of the 1950’s and 60’s era when modernism was at its heights. The extensive overhead glass and bottle displays, the plumbing pipe chandeliers and the tungsten lamps, all come together to make this a great hang out space.
On the other side of the booths are a bunch of two and four seater tables. The backdrop consists of a hacked brick wall spanning between two half arches. The arches are constructed using curved steel I sections and create two very interesting windows detailed with wrought iron grills and a collage of different etched glasses commonly found in older homes. The adjoining wall hosts some quirky pub rants interspersed with vintage tin plates that you would find is most American pubs. Some of these are stenciled directly on to the walls with frames hanging over them. A large charcoal sketch of a beaming pig completes the composition on this wall.
From Irish Nachos (heaven in a bowl for bacon lovers) to the addictive Pork Loaf, from the light chandeliers to the distressed surfaces, at Plan B, it’s all in the details.