VIVI at Centre Point
Long a beacon for the sketchier end of London’s Oxford Street, Centre Point has undergone a transformation in recent years. From brutalist 1960s office tower to a luxury complex with apartments, restaurants and retail units, the structure’s reincarnation is now complete with the opening of VIVI, a flagship restaurant led by hospitality group Rhubarb.
A combination of four slick spaces – VIVI Bar, VIVI Dining, VIVI Gallery and VIVI Liquid Lounge – VIVI manages to be both a pit stop and late night hangout, offering everything from classic cocktails in an homage to old school bartending, to a nostalgic all-day menu of British dishes, updated for a crowd who perhaps wouldn’t remember them from the first time around.
The space bears all the hallmarks of a Rhubarb project. Dramatic jewel-toned velvets and marble surfaces mingle in the four distinct areas, each flooded with natural light via floor-to-ceiling windows, which also offer unrivalled views of the Oxford Street buzz below, albeit from a peaceful distance.
The crowning glory is the bespoke plexiglass and brass chandelier, which hangs over the curvilinear bar that is clad with the plated bronze metallic Harper tile by Giles Miller Studio. Inspired by 1960s Italian design, French art nouveau and Bauhaus modernism, the chandelier is designer Vibeke Fonnesberg Schmidt’s first public commission in the capital – a fitting debut in this revival of a London icon.
INFORMATION
ADDRESS
Centre Point
11 St Giles Square
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Melina Keays is the entertaining director of Wallpaper*. She has been part of the brand since the magazine’s launch in 1996, and is responsible for entertaining content across the print and digital platforms, and for Wallpaper’s creative agency Bespoke. A native Londoner, Melina takes inspiration from the whole spectrum of art and design – including film, literature, and fashion. Her work for the brand involves curating content, writing, and creative direction – conceiving luxury interior landscapes with a focus on food, drinks, and entertaining in all its forms
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