Following the Kranzberg Arts Foundation’s mission to promote the arts community in St. Louis, the lounge provides a place for emerging and underrepresented mural and street artists to gain exposure and share their voice in the art gallery, music venue and through spoken word events. New artists are fostered through a residency program where the artist curates the gallery space and develops a body of new work in the adjacent artist studio. Most of the artwork is temporary, except for a large mural by Katherine Bernhardt, the chandelier above the bar, and a series of cocktail tables designed and fabricated by the architects, which were then painted by artist collaboratives. The skateboard deck tables and spray paint can table were painted by Screwed Arts Collaborative, who also painted the exterior sign. Painted Black STL painted the tables fabricated from beer kegs.

The chandelier is a permanently installed focal point above the bar in contrast to the temporal exhibition of mural-artists’ work in the surrounding gallery. The chandelier is composed of two sets of sticks that are combined to create a composite object where the intersection lines create optical effects while providing triangulation for the suspended structure. The chandelier parts were cut by a CNC router from plywood and have different size mortise & tenons so that they plug together to provide the exact geometry and angles automatically. The combined form subtly changes and is revealed as the people move around to all four sides of the bar. Since it is made from a series of straight sticks with gaps between, the suspended chandelier vacillates between solidity and porosity based on perpendicular or oblique views, vibrating between object and atmosphere.

Client: Kranzberg Arts Foundation
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Size: 2,350 s.f./ 218 m2(bar), 500 s.f./ 46 m2 (artist studio)
Design: 2020
Construction: 2021

Architect & Interior Design: OSA / Chandler Ahrens
Associate Designer: CEL
Contractor: Lockwood Construction & Development
Bar Design & Equipment Supplier: Ford Hotel Supply
Chandelier fabrication: Gravois Planing and Milling
Exterior Signage: Engraphix
Photography: Chandler Ahrens

Awards:
Architizer A+ finalist 2022
Eduwik Architecture Excellence Awards 2022
Muse Gold Design Award 2022