ABSTRACT
The year 1995 saw the opening of two London restaurants both pioneering a new dining experience while, at the same time, representing stylistic extremes. Belgo Centraal, designed by Ron Arad, follows the other extreme: a mixture of highly theatrical architectural gestures with the exploitation of the existing Victorian building fabric, the restaurant could be described as post-industrial Baroque. At Belgo Centraal Arad developed this approach further by using elements from industrial construction in the refurbishment of an apparently impossible space in the basement and part ground floor of a former warehouse between Earlham and Shelton Street. Exploiting the remaining elements of the existing Victorian commercial architecture and the image of patrons queuing for and subsequently entering the oversize lift, the design of Belgo Centraal makes expedient use of a commercially difficult space in a prime London location. The barrels from which a selection of draft beers is dispensed provide decorative elements for the interior.
