Héroine Restaurant & Bar in Rotterdam by Modiste

Modiste, a Rotterdam based furniture design company has shown their capacity to create beautiful furniture also extends to interior design. Modernist values stand at the heart of the company. Founded in 2011 by Marick Baars, Joeri Horstink and Jelle Baars, they came together out of ongoing experimentation with the Modernist design language.

They have recently completed Héroine, a fine dining restaurant and cocktail bar – a venerable monument of Rotterdam’s post-war reconstruction era. The building, purchased in 2015 had been in a neglected state for a couple of decades. The owner set about the restoration of the building insisting on implementing the modernist values that had been so integral in the making of the original building.

“The large 270sqm space in a side wing of the building had seen a fair amount of late 70’s and 80’s decay over time. Our aim from the start was to honour the origins of the building and strip the room back to its raw structural elements of concrete, metal window frames and open space floor plan as it was intended in the original design,” said the team.

As often happens when you take a clean sweep at a place, clearing away clutter and detritus, you’re left with some reference to the history of the space. Memories of its various incarnations.

“We were left with a big open space with many scars of the past which we decided to keep. From here we set out to create an opulent seventies atmosphere while firmly staying within the Modernist design tradition of the building,” said the designers.

And a 70’s atmosphere they have achieved, from the ubiquitous application of wood panelling, the burnt orange velvet/suede banquettes to the huge planters filled with oversized palms. It is a testimony to one of the icons of the 1960’s – American architect Warren Platner. Meticulously thought out and applied with restraint, the restaurant is an homage to the 60’s and 70’s era.

“The result is a balanced mix of simplicity and drama, a juxtaposition of essential and opulent in both design, materials and finishes to show that Modernism had another ace up its sleeve,” they said.

Another ace indeed.