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Architect Sameep Padora believes in form that functions, as we can see in Zenzi Mills – the latest in a series of chic watering holes at Lower Parel in Mumbai, says Maria Louis.

No matter from which angle you look at it, the ‘blob’ on the face of the à la mode Zenzi Mills is its most arresting feature. When Sameep Padora, the equally trendy architect responsible for giving the rundown mill space a facelift, christens it thus, you know just what he’s talking about.

“Zenzi Mills is a bar and makes no pretensions about it. Expecting the space to fill up most days, we anticipated that the counter would completely disappear behind the plethora of people,” he discloses. “So we designed our focal piece floating above it – a blob containing the bar display.”

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Padora’s box is full of surprises. Indeed a focal point, the free-flowing self-lit sculptural form snaking in mid-air above the barflies catches your eye as soon as you enter the long and narrow factory shed. Turning from the bar display into a light fixture and eventually into a handrail for the second installation piece, the staircase, it is functional art at its best.

Designed at the end of the double-loaded bar with seamlessly-fused parallel flights and a landing that’s the extension of the counter, the dramatic staircase transforms those heading for the fine dine area on the upper level into participants in a ‘ramp walk’ while those seated at the bar become their audience.

When Matan Schabracq of Zenzi Mills first saw the space, the factory was still running. “From the time I entered the shed, I loved the industrial look,” he recalls.  At his introductory meeting with Padora, he was won over by the architect’s love of life. “Besides being a great designer, he has travelled the world and is interested in more than his job. We (Schabracq and partners Anil Kably, Vishal Thakker, Sharad Mathur and Georgy Bedier de Prairie) told him that the rough industrial look had to be maintained as far as possible – but without the space looking dirty.”

The brief was very specific, as the partners were looking for a hardcore bar space where even when you’re walking in or coming down the stairs, the focus remains on the action at the bar. Since people who are seated are focused on those walking down, in a sense it becomes interactive. While Padora was given carte blanche with the aesthetics and design, Schabracq and general manager Emiliano were involved in the layout – which had a huge impact on the design.

Apart from the industrial vibe of Lower Parel and the fact that creative companies are settling there, Schabracq is delighted that the unimposing facade of Zenzi Mills does not give away what lies within.

Agreeing that the bar is the highlight, he reveals that he and his partners held long discussions after professionals advised them against placing it the middle, as it would become too chaotic when crowded. “Against all advice, we stuck to the idea. The interaction, the flirting and the eye contact are essentials for a good night out, and our bar stimulates these sensations. We also have the best sound system in the world, Funktion One, which is a great advantage.”

The two-storeyed structure was in bad shape when Padora went to examine the site. “We wanted to connect both floors at some point,” discloses the architect. A bit of the slab was cut out – so as soon as you enter, you experience this double height volume and see the sculptural staircase. Acknowledging that the staircase was a complex bit of design, Padora adds: “We achieved it by using a kind of symbiotic structure, where the cantilever for the bar level landing supports the cantilever of the stairway flight with guy wires (steel cables) to minimise sway.”

Since the project had to be executed on a tight budget, the design team figured out a way of creating the main installation piece by using regular plywood that was put through a relatively inexpensive industrial cutting process to generate the pieces that became the blobs. “I think the use of wood lends warmth to an industrial space. Each piece is put together by aligning the holes cut on each piece,” explains Padora.