2010 also saw nightlife going through the roof. Literally.
These past few months, we have seen some additional of at least five new rooftop bars that have breezed onto the nightlife scene boasting great views and cool drinks.
They are Ku De Ta on the Sands SkyPark, Lantern on the rooftop pool-deck of The Fullerton Bay Hotel, Fabrika, located on the 17th floor of Klapson’s The Boutique Hotel, The Club hotel’s Ying Yang and 1-Altitude. They bring the number of rooftop bars dotting Singapore to at least 15. 1-Altitude is dubbed Singapore’s highest bar at 282 meters, perched on the rooftop of the One Raffles Place building. Accompanying the 1-Altitude experience is the restaurant Stellar and a sports concept bar 282 and City Golf.
Some industry observers we spoke to agree opening rooftop bars is one way of using ‘dead’ or unutilized spaces of buildings. And with the lacking of space here, going vertical is the way to do it.
The Lo & Behold Group’s Wee Teng Wen agrees. Lo & Behold is one of the early adopters of rooftop drinking and partying when it opened Loof in 2006 on Odeon Towers. “We have always been inspired by interesting spaces and it is often the spaces themselves that drive the conceptualization process. That said, each rooftop bar is literally a vantage point offering a different perspective, so there definitely is room for more rooftop concepts and venues,” explains Wee.
One nightlife operator, Timbre Group Asia which owns the Timbre stable of bars, is open to the concept of hoofing to the roof. “We do see the potential of a roof top Timbre however we will only consider that once a suitable venue comes along. One of the most important factors is to be able to offer something unique with a Timbre rooftop concept rather than offering the same thing as other places,” says chief creative director Danny Loong.
All this bodes well for people like party-goer Sean Liu. The advertising account executive is a regular at rooftop spaces such as Loof and The Screening Room’s La Terraza. He says, “Chilling out at rooftop bars and drinking under the stars really take you away from the hubbub down below. It’s a form of escapism for me and I’m always looking for that new spot to go.”
And if it gets hot and humid? “I’ll just order more drinks,” Liu says.
