The former Chapel of Sint-John in the Cathedral of Our Lady in Antwerp, Belgium, has been recently transformed by architecture practice Van Staeyen into an eye-catching bar for local churchgoers and tourists.
The entire design and furniture have plenty of gothic and thematic references to the inside of the Cathedral: chapels, annexes, porches, cross-ribs, vaulted ceilings, and objects of art. The buttresses and arches are translated in the carpentry structure. Therefore it gives the impression being turned inside out: sculptured on the outside, lining on the inside.
All woodwork is done in French Douglas Fir, the European version of the Oregon Pine – in which the original floor was made. The bar rises up from the floor, as do the towers from the cathedral. The serving apertures in the bar are shaped after the windows of the Cathedral. Gothic with a twist: four-leaf clover, a curved triangle and a pentagon. The color blue is to be found in the stained-glass window inside the Cathedral. All furniture (tables, chairs, bar) is custom made.
