The sum of its arts
Mourad Mazouz, known as "Momo", calls it his "work in progress" - hence the name - but to all intents and purposes Sketch, the £10m fantasy project of the French-Algerian restaurateur, is finally open for business.
The task of combining art and design with food has been Momo's obsession over the past four years, ever since he fell in love with the Grade II-listed building at 9 Conduit Street in London, and began plans for this unique experience. Artists from around the world were commissioned to design the two restaurants, two bars and pâtisserie that make up Sketch, and somewhere along the way three-Michelin-starred chef Pierre Gagnaire was enlisted to create the food.
Unsurprisingly, it has been no easy task. The renovation and refurbishment of every aspect of the building, which was built in 1799, have been scrutinised by conservation body English Heritage, causing predictable delay. Then, because the building had been unoccupied for nine years, an extra £5m-worth of rendering was needed to make it safe and habitable.
It was worth the wait. Sketch is a breathtaking mix of classic architecture and modern design, with plenty of clever detail and humorous touches thrown in. The design of most of the first floor is the result of the collaboration between Momo and 27-year-old Parisian sculptor and designer Noe Duchafour Lawrence. It houses the art gallery that doubles as a brasserie by night, and two bars - one that could be straight from the set of 2001: A Space Odyssey, the other a study in 1960s chic.
Every other detail in the building is commissioned or collected by Momo, from the kinetic light sculptures by Chris Levine and Leroy Vincent to the Ron Arad front desk and crystal bathrooms by Mehbs Yaqub.
There are still adjustments to be made. Momo isn't happy with the graffiti-covered skylights in the West bar, and the artistic feature on the staircase in the hall - stairs covered in what looks like thick, dripping chocolate - is only temporary. Sketch might be open to the public but, for Momo, work has only just begun.
"It's what I imagined it would look like and I'm pleased with it, but we're still working on it," he says. "It's like an engine that is going but needs to be tuned - we need to put a bit of buzz into it."
The East bar
Sketch's second bar is straight out of a sci-fi movie - take your pick from 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange or Alien. Duchafour Lawrence's sculpting background is used here: the listed room is entirely filled with a white circular structure housing a sunken bar. Inflatable seating and tables are underlit in pink - so smoking is not allowed.
The East bar's toilets are themselves worth a visit. Gents' and ladies' loos can be found at each end of two sweeping staircases that encase the outside of the bar, underlit in pink and blue to denote the relevant genders. At the top, two sets of six human-sized, pod-like cubicles in luminous white are individually positioned around traditional pedestal sinks and mini chandeliers.
The West bar
Momo and Parisian sculptor Noe Duchafour Lawrence created the West bar, combining 1960s chic, kinetic light sculpture by Chris Levine and Leroy Vincent, and 21st-century style. Momo scoured Parisian flea markets for the curly floor-standing lamps and the 1960s tub chairs, that have since been recovered in a variety of fabrics, from leather to corduroy.
The Gallery
This is a video art gallery during the day, and a 130-seat brasserie at night. The Gallery, designed by Duchafour Lawrence and Momo, will show six-weekly video art exhibitions, curated by Mehrnoosh Khadavi, on a 2.5m-high projection strip wrapped around all four walls. Below the strip, walls are upholstered in white leather to match wide, white leather banquettes.
During the day, the Gallery is open to the public, but from 7pm it becomes Sketch's second restaurant. The banquettes are removed and white tables and chairs are placed at varying heights to add "depth" to the room.
With an average bill of £60 per head in the Gallery, Momo says he is hoping to attract a mixed crowd. Starters and desserts are served "mezze" style on trolleys specially designed by Marc Newson. The layout is expected to change with each new exhibition and, after 11pm, the furniture is altered again, transforming the space into a lounge bar. Record producer Mathieu Massadian has been enlisted as music director and will be offering a mix of "electronica, house, electro and minimalist clicks and cuts".
Sketch
9 Conduit Street,
London W1S 2XG.
Tel: 0870 777 4488
Owner: Mourad Mazouz
Size: 20,000sq ft
Cost: £10m
Staff: 169
Executive chefs: Pierre Gagnaire, Gregoire Seins
Music director: Mathieu Massadian
The Lecture Room
Head chef: Pascal Sanchez
Capacity: 70
Average bill per person: £120 (dinner), £45 (lunch)
Opening times: Tuesday to Sunday, for lunch and dinner
The Gallery
Capacity: 150
Average bill per person: £60
Opening times: Mondays to Fridays, 7pm to 11pm
The Parlour
Capacity: 35
Pastry chef: Annabel Levard
Opening times: Mondays to Fridays, 10am to 8pm
The West Bar
Capacity: 45
The East Bar
Capacity: 25-35
The Parlour
One of Momo's favourite rooms - he says he will be spending most of his time at Sketch here - is the pÆ'tisserie. Artist Jurgen Bey, of Dutch design collective Droog, created the interior, including the furniture, lighting and fabrics. The design blends the classic with the modern - antique brocade lamps and crystal chandeliers encased in transparent plastic cylinders; details from paintings by Dutch masters set into chair backs and walls; and gold-embossed curtains against stark grey paintwork.
The Lecture Room
Gabhan O'Keeffe designed Pierre Gagnaire's 100-seat fine-dining restaurant. It was the Irish designer's first commercial project - he mostly designs interiors for private art collectors and for the rich and famous. There's no art in this room but O'Keeffe reportedly used the style, colour and detail of Gagnaire's food as inspiration for his eclectic design.
Three sections make up the restaurant. The main dining area boasts hand-painted golden-striped walls, orange lantern lights and a hand-made carpet in riotous colours and shapes that echo O'Keeffe's themes throughout all three areas.
A tiled mirrored wall separates the main dining room from a smaller and more sedate back room. Here, walls are upholstered in white leather and windows are dressed with crystal curtains by Swarovski. The adjacent smoking room offers sumptuous colours and textures in the form of O'Keeffe's asymmetric sofa and chairs and hand-painted flames licking up alcove walls.
Furniture and fittings throughout are designed by O'Keeffe and made in American oak. Crockery is by Astier-de-Vilatte, bread baskets by Tom Dixon and uniforms by Oswald Boateng.
The Lecture Room toilets
More than £35,000-worth of crystals were sponsored by Swarovski for the creation of jewellery designer Mehbs Yaqub's toilets. These breathtakingly opulent rooms are lined with mirrors, coloured glass and thousands of crystals. Crystal curtains hang between the door and sink area in the ladies', while crystal chains hanging from the ceiling serve as toilet-roll holders. In the gents', a crystal encrusted and mirrored waterfall urinal is triggered as the visitor walks through the door.
