The Print Room. Bournemouth
The Print Room is the second of two Bournemouth eateries that David Archer Architects have designed for local entrepreneur and restaurateur Andy Price, following the opening of Aruba bar and restaurant on Bournemouth Pier earlier this summer. Drawing on inspiration from brasseries around the world, The Print Room pays homage to the building’s original Art Deco architecture and heritage of the old print room, offering visitors a distinctly opulent dining experience.
The £2 million renovation celebrates the original 1930s architecture, exploiting the
generous 1020sqm space and restoring the drama of the building in a grand interior
unique to the South Coast.
The new restaurant combines the charm and sophistication of a French brasserie with the grandeur of 1930s American dining hall. David Archer Architects have retained the 7m ceiling height and located the restaurant in a generous open plan 370 sqm space, entered via retrofitted reeded glass double doors.
The renovated Print Room features a dramatic mirror backed bar hung with Swarovski crystal chandeliers and an area of high backed banquettes that create intimate enclosures in the voluminous space. Custom built of oak wood and overhung with handmade contemporary cut glass light shades, the arrangement pays homage to the formal dining booths of Chartier in Paris.
This area is combined with less formal café seating and flanked by a charcuterie and deli bar, patisserie and bakery. A classic black and white chequered terrazzo floor unifies the entire room. The original foreman’s look out is retained and provides a view onto the restaurant floor from the first floor offices.
The toilets occupy a roof lit space at the centre of the plan and are fitted with tongue and groove enclosures, and full-length ceramic urinals reminiscent of a traditional Parisian “pissoire”.
The Ink bar at the front of the building features dark stained bespoke tables and chairs which are decorated on the interior with a peach accent colour. This aesthetic continues in the Daily Echo’s former boardroom, which is now furnished with a grand black glass meeting table for private dining. This area features restored figured maple panelling and cut glass decorative pendant lamps.
Whilst Ink Bar principally serves the local lunchtime business crowd, The Print Room’s extensive brasserie menu and wine list offers diners the opportunity to indulge and is expected to attract discerning diners from further a field. Under the guidance of Head Chef Andrew Robson the restaurant will offer a menu of first class cuisine using locally sourced fish, meat and fresh ingredients created to reflect the style of a French brasserie.
Project Credits:
Client: Andy Price
Architects: David Archer Architects
Contractor: Launder Construction
Furniture Design: David Archer Architects
Furniture Manufacturing: Sitting Firm and Lister Carter
Lighting Design and Installation: Jonathan Coles
Fabrics, Fittings and Electrical Manufacturer: Lister Carter