CHiC, a discrete, sleek cocktail bar from the team behind ARCH

In association with Beijing Design Week and CHIC

From the team behind hidden cocktail joint Arch comes CHiC, a new bar-cum-bistro that‘s another demonstration of the team's serious approach to booze and design sensibility for breathing new life into some of Beijing's most best kept secrets.

Located in the old legation quarter, the venue is a landmark itself brimming with history. Nestled in a well-preserved 14,000 sqm courtyard built in 1866 once home to the Belgian embassy and consulate, the site is later renovated into a haute hotel compound exclusively used for receiving state guests.

Occupying a basement space in the courtyard, the venue functions as a canteen for the hotel staff during the day, and transforms to a sleek cocktail joint at night, serving up high-class hooch including quaffable cocktails made with exotic liqueurs including the likes of Chinese yellow wine and baijiu, and carefully executed French bistro fare to boot.

Swipe for photos

The space is tastefully reimagined and maintains an European charm with nods to the complex's former Belgian architectural remains. Think faux exposed brick walls, vintage tiled floors, arches, and a stunning centerpiece of an exquisite, hand-carved stone column encircled by a low-lit bar counter.

The seamless blend of vintage and modern perhaps shouldn’t come as a surprise from the team behind ARCH. ‘We had the sizable task of finding the balance of the space being a bar and a hotel canteen, meeting the demands and requirements of the building, and ultimately bringing the past and present together,’ said founder Biscuit, who works in finance but has a penchant for historical architectures.

When faced with such a complicated project, designer Zhao Wei, who is lauded ‘an architect of the nature and the wild' by Biscuit, is the first person who came to her mind. 

Founder Biscuit (left) & designer Zhao Wei (right)

To find out more about the design-focused space, we spoke to designer Zhao, who’s also part of the same design force behind Arch.

Q: What was preserved or restored in designing CHiC? 

A: The venue used to be only a canteen for hotel workers with a bare column smack in the middle and interfering with the floor plan which was quite a challenge for us in the beginning. 

However, along the way we realised the best way to deal with it is to creatively rethink the structure instead of removing it. In doing so we found inspos from Belgian architectural history, specifically the Palace of Justice of Brussels, the largest building in Europe in the 19th century. And we resculpted the column to make it into a focal point of the whole space. 

Q: How were colour and lights utilised to help set the mood and tone at CHIC?

A: The ambience is largely affected by subdued lighting from what we call the 'island', which is the stone column. At night, it's illuminated in five colours (And in red it look like a bonfire with the its layered shape. Each colour certainly enhances the mood of the space in its own way.

Q:  Repurposing existing historic and cultural space seems to be a point of focus in your design. Why so? 

A: Maximising old urban space by making use of what you have through design is feasible and sustainable. And this is what we hoped to achieve with CHiC. In elevating the social function and the style of an underground establishment, it renews the space with tons more possibilities. 

You might have missed

More from Time Out Beijing