SKETCH
Opening a £ 10-million, high design emporium of restaurant, bar and gallery spaces in the former head quarters of both the Royal Institute of British Architects and Christian Dior, king of the revolutionary "New Look" is nothing if not brave. However, even though it opened back in 2002, there’s still areal buzz about Ketch, kept alive not by the surfeit of celebrity customer, but by a uniqueness that has survived both criticism and fads. Its success lies in its desire to offer an increasingly design-literate public living, responsive, interactive spaces that really engage while confounding expectations and delighting the senses. Sketch is an enfolding work, with the Glade restaurant and the redesigned Parlour, completed in late2005, the most significant new ventures.
The Grade II-listed 1779 town house on London's Conduit Street is now home to chic, extravagant mélange where the design , good and cocktails combine to offer a fresh frisson. Owner Mourad Mazouz had already found success in London with very sensual Maghrebi restaurant Momo, and here teamed up with co-owner and Chef Pierre Gagnaire, architect Gabhan O'Keeffe and interior designer Noe Duchaufour-Lawrence to create a series of room that continue to have even design-spoilt, world weary Londoners slipping on their most stylish togs. Specially commissioned pieces from some of the world's leading designer, including Ron Arad, Marc Newson and Jurgen Bey, add to the surprise factor and help blur the distiction between gallery and entertainment spaces.
Sketch
