The latest nightlife hot spot in Johannesburg is Alice & Fifth. It advertises itself as an underground avant-garde venue and the address for luxury dining.
It is a darkly masculine night club in a rich, retro style we have seen much of lately with its velvet upholstery, dark wood, brass fittings, heavy drapery and no windows.
It has indeed received its name from its address at Sandton Sun, at the corner of Alice Lane and 5th Street in Sandton, Gauteng.
Its luxury status is also believable as the Sandton area is known as “Africa’s richest square mile” and the most important financial and business district in South Africa. The area is home to skyscrapers and luxury businesses.
Designer Tristan Plessis and his StudioA/Tristan Plessis Studio took client Milk & Honey Group SA’s straightforward brief and translated it into his own version of edgy decadence.
“The client wanted a sumptuous and decadent space juxtaposed with a raw unrefined underground edge,” Plessis tells The Cool Hunter. “The feel was intended to be nostalgic of a time gone by with a contemporary twist and a slightly dark undertone.”
We like the overall balance of StudioA’s concept that occupies in total 1,400 square-metre (15,070 sq. ft) of space and seats 225.
The dark colouring and the hard wood and marble are nicely softened by velvet seating and curved forms.
The surprises in this space are the curving, beveled white ‘paneling’ that covers some of the walls and even the ceiling in one area by the bar, and the striped marble flooring that makes the bar-front area stand out.
In addition to the sumptuous surroundings, the target customers who, according to Plessis, are “the well-heeled Sandton socialites, high powered businesspeople and politicians, and those seeking an adventurous night out” will be treated to a Johannesburg first: A supper club with live performances. Tuija Seipell.
