Posted on August 5, 2010
When we began the search for a place to set up our ambitious project, we had a long list of demands. TAB’s home would have to be easily accessible, so Punggol was out. We also needed lots of parking nearby, great acoustics, and a huge contiguous indoor space… which frankly none of the dilapidated shophouses, former-KTV lounges or japanese restaurants we looked at offered. Real estate agents stopped taking our calls, until one last option unexpectedly emerged.
We never thought TAB would be on Orchard Road.
Renovations are nearly completed on the site of the former Orchard Hotel Galleria, just across the street from Forum The Shopping Mall, is our 9,000+ sq. foot bar/bistro/concert venue. Every spot on the main floor and mezzanine balcony will have a great view of a large 8m-wide stage, and the sound system is being readied to handle anything we throw at it. Except chairs.
If there’s one thing we’ve learnt during this construction phase, it’s that nothing ever goes to plan. We’ve run into horrifying snags on a weekly, sometimes daily, basis. The most shocking was discovering load-bearing pillars (supporting the weight of most of the 2nd floor) where there weren’t supposed to be any, after we’d started hacking around them!
We elected to keep many of the site’s original features; unique architectural touches that contribute more by their presence than any urge to build over and start anew. From the moment you first step into our street-level lobby, and get a taste of the wood-finishing that is featured throughout TAB, it’s clear there’s something special going on. Upstairs, a large, all-glass frontage with a panoramic view over Orchard and Orange Grove Road gives the senses something to contemplate between sets. Running behind the stage is the original pair of escalators that once brought people to a spa facility on the third floor; now they’ll deliver patrons to the mezzanine balcony and lounge area.
Here are some photos of what the place looked like before work began, and what our initial plans for it looked like. We promise you won’t recognize it once the doors open.
