[.ca] Bar and Club Design (ISBN 0789207532)

Author strikes back....:
Re: San Antonio reader. As author of Bar & Club Design, with (evidently) currently too much spare time , I should like to point out a few things to the San Antonio reader who posted a review. Firstly, that I know none of the other readers who have posted reviews, they are not my bribed friends! And secondly, this book is actually a source book primarily aimed at architects and designers, many of whom find such books a useful tool for inspiration and ideas; it is not meant to be a step-by-step guide to how to design a bar or club. Just wanted to get that straight for other readers of this page, so don't let Disparaging of ST dissuade you if that sounds up your street. And if you like this book, look out for 'Restaurant Design' due out this August (2004). As the author I had no idea what to grade myself, so obviously put 5 stars...at least it'll grab your attention right?

an HONEST assessment:
I bought this book based upon the posted reviews. I have often wondered if the regular buying public actually contributed these or if the author or their friends wrote em to increase sales. I now know. Bar and Club design is a lot of sizzle and no steak. The photographs are nice if you are in to super slick Euro looking clubs where you can visually hear the techno trash music in the background. The pictures are amusing only because you look at them once and think why? I guess that is why they were selected for this book. There are no ideas anyone spending their own money would care to emulate; unless you are spending Euro's or Yen. I did not get even one idea from this book and I am an open minded guy looking for ideas. May I suggest 'Successful Restaurant Design' and 'Restaurants That Work.' Even though they say restaurant in the title they show many more pictorial ideas, floorplans and insight for bars than this disappointment.

For commercial interior designers and club owners:
Bar And Club Design by London-based interior design and leisure expert Bethan Ryder is a simply gorgeous, amazing, and occasionally inspiring showcase of countless possibilities to create the perfect ambience for bars and clubs that feature drinking and dancing. Stunning color photography captures an eclectic variety of differing layouts covering internal moods from relaxed to energetic to post-modern. Supplemented by an exhaustive and informative text, as well as artistic perspectives and simple layout diagrams, Bar And Club Design is a superb and strongly recommended reference and a first-class source book for commercial interior designers and club owners seeking remodeling ideas.

A work of genius:
Certainly, this stands as the definitive text on bars and clubs, a benchmark that will likely stand for decades as the ne plus ultra exposition on the complicated nexus of style, design, fashion, trend, and drinking too much.