Bareksten Best Bar Design Award 2024

Atlas

Singapore

Gatsby opulence with gin aplenty

Known locally as ‘the Gotham City building’, the foreboding art deco exterior of Singapore’s Parkview Square – the realised vision of the late Hong Kong-based property tycoon CS Hwang – in the historic Bugis neighbourhood, is imposing and impressive in equal measure. Stepping inside feels like stepping back in time, as you find yourself enveloped by the huge Jazz Age-inspired ground floor lobby bar, with its triple-height ceilings, baroque-style ceiling fresco, dazzling chandeliers and plush velvet and leather furniture with Spanish finishing.

Gilded touches and embellishments aside, the focal point of the vast space is the dramatically lit, 12-metre-high glass-fronted, bronze tower which holds more than 1,300 bottles of gin, accessed by an elegant staircase and mezzanine floor. If you can draw your eyes away from the gin selection, below the tower sits a rose gold champagne room filled with more than 250 labels of fizz, including some incredibly rare bottles from Hwang’s eldest son George’s private collection.

Hwang’s legacy has continued with the help of his granddaughter, Vicky, who oversaw the building’s upgrade in 2017, working with Hassell Studio and Proof & Company on an evolution of the original space, with careful restoration of early work by James Adams Design. Despite the vastness of the space, intimacy is an important factor, with thoughtful updates allowing for adjustable localised mood and effect lighting, which never takes away from the breathtaking ceiling.

If the gin or champagne don’t take your fancy, Preservation of Fire, the latest cocktail menu conceived by head bartender Lidiyanah ‘Yana’ K and the skilled Atlas team, is a love letter to the rich history of cocktail making techniques. Split into four chapters – carbonation, temperature, washing and infusion – each offers four cocktails, plus a non-alcoholic option to ponder, whether you’re in the mood for a martini, champagne cocktail, old fashioned or sour-style drink. Raise a glass to tradition in the most opulent surroundings at Atlas in Singapore, winner of the Bareksten Best Bar Design Award at Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2024.

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