Interior works commenced this week over in Tonbridge on the Fuggles interior project as 165 High Street begins its design transformation from carpet shop to beer café. Interior works commenced this week on the Fuggles interior project in Tonbridge as 165 High Street begins its design transformation from carpet shop to beer café. Local construction company RTW Construction has begun the rip out of this 19th Century terraced building as they prepare to put Kook’s creative design scheme in place. Work has begun in the basement to form what will be the new beer cellar, WC facilities and staff offices, and upstairs the previous shop fittings are gone and the new suspended ceiling is undergoing sound and fire proofing.

Now the space is clear and Kook’s interior designer Alex has got a feel for the space, work can begin on refining the overall design scheme. Some changes have been made since the original interior plans were issued – structurally, the biggest of these changes has been the location of the staircase accessing the basement, as the proposed location turned out to house sewage and drainage pipes. Relocating these would be costly so the staircase is remaining where it is. It’ll now lead directly from the bar downstairs, bringing you out directly next to the beer cellar. As this project’s primary focus is beer, we felt it was only right to make a feature of this new access point to the basement.

Alex reworked this part of the design so the beer cellar will now be visible through a vision panel on the wall, in between the corridor and the cellar. This vision panel will display the heart of Fuggles. Beer barrels will be visible lined up on racking encasing the walls, while pipework will transfer the beer like veins through the floorboards, up through the building until it reaches the taps behind the bar, ready to be poured for all to enjoy.

Giving people the opportunity to see exactly how a bar like this works is something not usually seen in most places. They’re usually locked away in a cold dark corner of a room only seen by staff and people alike – but Kook has decided to celebrate these facilities and use what’s there to create a visual spectacle out of a space which would otherwise go unseen.

Over the next week detail drawings will begin to go into production for the bespoke cabinetry and acoustic / lighting designs, ready for the carpenters at Kent Oak to begin manufacturing.