The Folio Bar is an extravagantly layered space. Materiality, texture, lighting and framed views create a visual feast while infinite reflections caught in antiqued mirror amplify the theatre of the experience, capturing moments of Cambridge’s great academic achievements and images of some of its most significant fellows.
Briefed by the client to create a bar with the ambience of a members’ club for The Fellows House Cambridge, Curio Collection by Hilton, twenty2degrees designed a space imbued with the scientific legacy of the university fellows, expressed in particular through bespoke artworks and accessories. A floor-to-ceiling carved panel is a celebration of the discovery of DNA by Cambridge fellows which, so the story goes, they modelled over a pint in the nearby Eagle pub; a cocktail cabinet displays glass drippers used to curate local drinks in-house which would seem quite at home in a scientist’s laboratory; and a brick wall reveals college crests in faded ghost signage where the plaster has “fallen away”.
Dark timber parquet is teamed with marbles, eclectic seating collections and a rich colour palette. In the centre of the space, a pool table is not just for playing billiards but can be converted into a food display counter for private events.
