This Bengaluru bar transforms into a fun-spirited nightclub over the weekends

Watson’s is a good place to hang out with friends and family. Abundant sunlight streams in through the large windows, making the chic, bucolic bar warm and inviting. However, over the weekend, Watson’s takes on the persona of PUMA Shuffle: a cavernous, dark enclosure effused with mesmerising, coloured lights and music. The design is based on the concept of an alter ego—Watson’s, a neighbourhood bar, known for friendly banter, comfort food, retro music and an old-school Bangalore vibe transforms into PUMA Shuffle, a subterranean club-like space that features live alternative music.

“I was inspired by the underground club culture growing around the world, where a musician takes up any old, unused building in the community and transform into a performing space,” says architect Amitha Madan, founder, TreeLight Designs. Amitha wanted to reuse the original elements of the structure. Steel, wood, stone and glass were retained in the spirit of sustainability. The resulting stark, almost primitive look of the interiors only adds to its rustic appeal.

The bar features bare interiors and the materiality of natural, hard surfaces with few decorative elements or soft furnishings. The double-height arched windows and barrel roof with their raw, unfinished look lend an old world charm. The space has a neutral, material palette that merges the two diametrically opposite identities of Watson’s and Puma’s with finesse and caters to different moods with panache.

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