NM3 Opens Bar Bardo, a Red-Hued Listening Bar in Milan Inspired by Adolf Loos
Bar Bardo, designed by Milan studio NM3, is a listening bar located across from Bar Basso, encompassing a 55-square-metre space along with a bathroom. Most of the furnishings were custom-made, featuring polished rosewood panels that enhance acoustics. The stainless steel bar is complemented by 1950s pendant lights from Luigi Caccia Dominioni, the sole vintage elements in the bar. A stainless steel DJ booth is surrounded by built-in red velvet seating, crimson curtains, and vibrant red speakers. The bathroom showcases bright red tiles paired with stainless steel fixtures. Co-founder Francesco Zorzi drew inspiration from Vienna's American Bar by Adolf Loos, aiming for a classic Milanese bar with adaptable design. This project marks a softer approach for NM3, which is typically recognized for its raw interiors and metal-centric designs. Photography by Piercarlo Quecchia.
Key facts
- Bar Bardo is a listening bar in Milan designed by local studio NM3
- The bar occupies a 55-square-metre single room with an additional bathroom
- It sits directly across the road from Bar Basso
- Polished rosewood panels clad the walls and ceiling, also improving acoustics
- Globular 1950s pendant lights by Luigi Caccia Dominioni are the only vintage pieces, rehung on longer black chains
- Red velvet banquettes, crimson curtains and bright red speakers accompany a stainless steel DJ booth and vinyl shelving
- The bathroom is covered floor to ceiling in bright red 10-centimetre-by-10-centimetre tiles
- Adolf Loos's American Bar in Vienna, finished in 1908, and the Kronenhalle in Zurich by Robert and Trix Haussmann were cited as references
- NM3 was founded in 2020 and is known for modernist stainless steel furniture
- All furnishings except the bar and banquettes are movable, letting the space convert into a club
- Photography is by Piercarlo Quecchia
Entities
Artists
- Francesco Zorzi
- Adolf Loos
- Robert Haussmann
- Trix Haussmann
- Luigi Caccia Dominioni
- Piercarlo Quecchia
Institutions
- NM3
- Bar Bardo
- Bar Basso
- American Bar
- Kronenhalle
- Galleria Montegani
- Miss Sixty
- Dezeen
Locations
- Milan
- Italy
- Vienna
- Austria
- Zurich
- Switzerland
Sources
- Dezeen —