There's a rathskeller revolution happening in Taipei. Where there was once a short list of lounge bars in which to while away the small hours sipping NT$200 beers, there's now one opening seemingly every week. The increased competition is nowhere more apparent than in the interior designs of these establishments, with lounge owners engaged in an aesthetic one-upmanship for the most well-appointed watering hole, one that captures the imaginations of Taipei's top-shelf clientele and keeps them coming back. Lounging is now big business.
The business model is based on the belief that the same glass of single malt Scotch tastes better when the drinker is sunk into an Italian leather sofa than when propped up by a folding chair, and so emphasizes the role of the designer, who becomes central to the success or failure of the enterprise. So central, in fact, that they often own a share in the lounge they create or, in some cases, own it outright.
"There is definitely a symbiotic relationship between the owner and the designer," said Mark Lintott, who has designed some of the most high-profile parlors in Taipei. He was the creative force behind Opium Den, one of the city's pioneering swank saloons, and Plush, atop the Core Pacific Living Mall. He also owned part of the former and is a shareholder in the latter. When the designer owns part of the lounge they create, according to Lintott, "You get a greater commitment from the designer."
Whether they have a stake in its success or not, lounge bars invariably offer designers a high-profile venue to showcase their work and a chance to stretch themselves creatively. "There aren't the back-of-house considerations that you have when designing, say, a restaurant," Lintott said. "You don't have to concern yourself with food storage or a kitchen area. ... There's greater flexibility."
Paul Chen was one designer who realized this flexibility. He and Andrew Liu (劉德璋) teamed up to create Purpo, which opened earlier this year. "From a designer's point of view, owning the venue you've designed yourself is tantamount to having your line of clothing if you're a fashion designer," he said. "It's a different kind of fashion statement."
In fact, much of Chen's previous design work has been in the fashion industry, and this influence shows inside Purpo. Opaque fabrics drape from the ceiling in some areas and pillow-work walls in others. Sequins dangle from most every light and, as its name suggests, the whole place is awash in purple hues.
Located on Anho Road, Purpo will have plenty of competition. In recent years the area has been carpeted with lounge bars. "Not long ago, I walked along Anho and counted over 30 bars and restaurants," said Christy Lee (
Often they don't. The same address that now houses Saloon was previously the location of Juicy and before that, Milk. Both of those lounges, whose interiors cost millions of New Taiwan dollars to create, proved popular with Taipei's hip urban youth but closed nonetheless after relatively short business runs. Saloon has proven equally popular and has the economic security of being owned by some of the same people who invested in Room 18, one of the city's most popular lounge clubs. Room 18 itself is in the same place that previously housed Lightbug, whose lights went out nearly four years ago. Four years is something of a benchmark in the lounge bar industry -- if not for the business, then for its design.
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