XYZ Lounge & Bar in Ghent by Didier Fiuza Faustino

Fleshy pink stucco mouldings, slabs of sandy, silver-veined marble, and a militia of Delete Yourself chairs in sage green: this is Didier Fiúza Faustino’s first bar, lounge, and restaurant.

The French-Portuguese architect straddles the lands of art and architecture, wielding both interchangeably to widen the possibilities and potential of space. In XYZ Lounge and Bar in Ghent, he has created an artistic vision of our interstellar future, a sort of space-age cathedral drenched in diffused light, and a decadent architectural fantasy fit for new experiences in an uncharted world. Elon Musk, take note.

Thematically at least, Didier’s vision for XYZ appears to follow on from Cosmogony – an exhibition concept he created for Hermes and Pierre Hardy that centred on the science of the creation of celestial bodies and the origin of our universe. At first glance, XYZ is the science fiction setting for a Sofia Coppola remake of Fritz Lang’s Metropolis (which – side note – I would definitely watch). Upon closer inspection, however, Didier’s idea of retrofuturism is more fluid. Speaking to Domus he said, “I like to imagine a space with no age: this place looks as if there is some reference, but it could be also classical, past but not future, future but not past.”

Located on the ground floor of a new arts centre and apartment complex called Zebrastraat, XYZ is made up of a series of interconnected spaces set over 360 square metres: a central nave and bar, events space, a smaller adjoining bar, and mezzanine platforms leading to conference halls and meeting rooms above.

A made to measure steel frame created a new outline for the interior, supporting the lightweight stucco and 3mm marble veneer, as well as textile ceilings, lighting surfaces, and timber cladding. Unlike our standard, dimly lit basement speakeasies, in XYZ soft white light is gently and effortlessly diffused throughout, emphasising the textures of various surfaces and giving each room that ethereal spaceship glow.

Furniture and features were designed by Didier specifically for the project. Beneath the centre bar’s pitched cathedral ceiling is a floating marble countertop, and dramatic, diamond-shaped acoustic panels draped in dense olive green. In the event space are rows of Didier’s rotomoulded polypropylene Delete Yourself chairs, whose aesthetic appeal far outweighs their potential for discomfort. High tables and chairs made of varnished steel tubes, marble surfaces, and leather seats feature in the adjoining bar.