Diva Lounge

When I worked for the hospitality design firm in Memphis, this image was tacked to the side of my workstation for 2 years.

When I moved to Boston I got a job with a firm in Somerville and discovered that the space that served as an inspiration image for me for so long was located just down the street. My office had our holiday lunch at the Diva Indian Bistro next door and when we were finished eating I ran next door for some design dessert.

Looks like some bar goers loved on the little partition above pre-photo shoot. If I were the designer, that would kill me.

The little dome spaces in the back are the restrooms. 

What I like most about this space is the shoestring budget that in no way, shape, or form limited the level of design.  The architects used skylight domes to achieve the bubbled ceiling look, which are backlit with LEDs. The LEDs probably ate 80% of their budget, but the space would not have made Architectural Record (or my pin up space) without them.

I have yet to go back to Diva at night. Boston is so small and messes up your perception of distance so much, that asking a group of people to go to a bar in Davis Square, a whopping 5 miles from the city center, is like suggesting we all drive to Chicago for the night.


Architect: Hansy Better Barraza and Anthony Piermarini
Source: Architectural Record