Glass blocks star in Cargo Bar refurbishment
The design team from SJB Interiors, charged with the complete refurbishment of the Cargo Bar on Sydney's King Street Wharf, approached us with an initial concept to use stacked glass blocks in and behind the bar areas, to represent pallets of cargo.
After several consultations with us and a full exploration of our glass blocks range, the decision was made to use glass blocks in a more experimental way than first envisaged.
The Mulia Toba Half Blocks were chosen; the paint was stripped from the perimeter of each block so that light passes through the blocks in all directions and the glass blocks were laid sideways so that what you see is not the moulded pattern of the face but the seam where the two halves of the blocks are fused together.
In the downstairs bar, the blocks were stacked in large bays in front of the bar and behind the counter, all back lit with bars of light. Upstairs the blocks were laid into custom steel frames in narrow "V" panels at varying angles. These were also back lit with solid lights that change colour. All the blocks were glued together and sealed using a crystal clear polymer.
The completed effect of this is magnificent. The stacking of the blocks is a nod to the original cargo pallet concept, but the moulded pattern on the block and the stripping of the paint creates an amazing, shimmering light effect, particularly when back lit.
The downstairs bar featuring glass blocks in and behind the bar:
The upstairs bar, featuring glass blocks in panels behind the bar:
The glass block, Mulia Toba Half, stripped of paint so light can pass through at all angles:
