Wintec design student Delwyn Clayton-Greene has embraced the community spirit of the Waikato Regional Theatre project by choosing it as the venue for a champagne bar concept in an assignment.
With an open brief for the final ‘Capstone Project’ of her three-year Bachelor of Design majoring in Spatial Design, Delwyn wanted to explore hospitality design as it was opportunity to imagine a space that makes people feel special and welcomed.
“My initial idea was a champagne bar in a disused old building but I was inspired to find out more about the Waikato Regional Theatre when I saw the beautiful façade of the Hamilton Hotel that’s been revealed on Victoria St,” says Delwyn.
“I had read a little bit about the Theatre project but didn't know much about the history or plans for the site. There was a lot of information about the project available online at sharethestage.co.nz, which made it easy to decide to hypothetically locate this bar on the second floor of the new Theatre complex on the corner of Victoria St and Sapper Moore-Jones Place.
“The imaginary bar is named ’Noble’ to reference both its location on Victoria St and the history of the Hotel’s ‘Queens Suite’, which hosted the newly crowned Queen and Prince Philip on her Coronation Tour in 1953.
“Noble is also a name for the mould that is deliberately cultivated on grapes to create dessert wines, which also fits the wine bar vibe.
“The brand is about being luxe, celebratory and a little bit fancy. Warm and irreverent, as well as elevated and refined. I designed a logo for the brand, as this helped me create the aesthetic I wanted - the logo is a little bit traditional but turned on its side with the reverse emphasis typeface.
“It has been a fun project and I have enjoyed the process so much. I am hugely grateful for the valuable feedback along the way from tutors across the Media Arts department, Alex Williams from Wonderhorse, and Theatre legend David Sidwell, who is also a Wintec tutor,” says Delwyn.