As of recent, Glenwood South is the most popular, most talked about neighborhood in Raleigh. Businesses are moving in and out constantly, and everyone is looking at who’s opening next. Over the past few months, we’ve seen news about several staple Raleigh businesses: Revolver, a hip consignment shop is moving in; internationally sold Holly Aiken Stitch has moved out; Cody’s Bistro was replaced with Thaiphoon; Zely & Ritz and Sushi Blues are getting a major makeover; Helios switched up the interiors in their space; the new Brooklyn Heights Bar opened; and one of Raleigh’s absolute favorite restaurants, Tasca Brava, has come to the strip.
When Solas owner Niall Hanley had a vision to create the hottest new bar and restaurant in town, he knew exactly where to put it: South Glenwood Avenue. Jon Wright, New City Design Group‘s design lead for Solas, describes the idea for the project as “an upscale urban restaurant and nightclub similar to those found in Las Vegas or Miami.”
Each floor of the building has it’s own idea. The first floor, including an outdoor patio that wraps around the north side of the building, will be a fine dining restaurant. White table cloths indeed. Upon entering the building, the bar is on the left, backlit with candlelight fixtures. A full height wine rack insets the back wall and provides a visual resting point from the bar. Most of the fixtures in the entire building are LED, and many are highly customizable. The material palate for the restaurant consists of natural elements, rich wood forms, brown leathers and rust colored fabrics. A dumbwaiter is installed adjacent to the kitchen and 1st floor bar for delivering food to the upper deck.
The second level of the building presents a dance club/lounge atmosphere. The bar flips to the north on this floor, and the focus is on the DJ booth and glass dance floor, visible from some of the booths below. Private dining rooms are to the rear. Each portion of the building has outdoor space; on this floor, it’s the balcony overlooking Glenwood South. The interiors selection includes grayscale with pops of red for accent and impact. The bar on this floor backs up to windows for a dramatic skyline view.
One downtown Raleigh club manager, who shall remain anonymous, said: “They are going to have a rooftop lounge and that’s something no one else has. That is intimidating.” As if that wasn’t enough, the building is structurally engineered to receive a full live load on the very top of the building, and the elevator was built such that the piston may be adjusted to allow it to reach the roof. In other words, Solas is designed to be expandable.
The utilities and circulation of the building program are pushed to the south and the west of the site. This allows the street front and north face of the structure, which is stepped back off of the zero-lot line, to be predominantly glass, or open in the case of the rooftop bar. The elevational composition is based on a 4’-0” module horizontally and vertically. This module was broken at certain locations to maximize the foot print.
The material selection for the building was an attempt to use familiar products to local trades but in a slightly different application and color. A black iridescent brick was employed in a utility size (oversized) to tie closer to the scale of the masonry elements. Metal siding that is traditionally hung vertically was installed horizontally to emphasize a weaving of forms and materials. Fritted glass is used at the top band of each floor to break down the scale of the field of glass and add another layer of texture. It also helps block some sunlight transmissions while maintaining views out.
HVAC equipment, which is typically mounted on the ground or roof, is installed on a mechanical rack at the back of the building on the second and third floors. This allowed the designer to maximize the footprint and hide these units while maintaining functionality and accessibility.
Solas has planned their opening for early August, just in time to feel that sultry North Carolina heat on the rooftop bar while cooling off with a drink. There’s still quite a few things to be done to get the space ready, but the owner has been on site every day, doing quite a bit of the work himself, and keeping everything on schedule. Check back to New Raleigh for updates on Solas and future events.
drawings and rendering courtesy of New City Design Group
Solas
419 Glenwood Ave
Raleigh NC 27605
