Located in Ghent, at the centre of the Zebrastraat complex combining housing, culture and a conference centre, the XYZ Lounge opened to the public since 1st June is a 360-sq.metre bar designed by Didier Faustino between SF décor and a Palladio-style theatre.

Shaped with square coffers with an X as an ornamental feature, in flesh-coloured Brescia marble or plasterwork, the interior of the XYZ seems to have been designed for the next crossover between the series Black Mirror and Sense 8. The Y-shaped double bar is in the centre of the lounge and structures the space. Made of slabs of pale pink marble attached to an aluminium framework, it heightens the bar’s erotic atmosphere. The architect appears to want to immerse us in the festive warmth of decadent Roman parties.

Placed under metal sheets in a cribwork structure, the LEDs diffuse a cold white light and give the impression of being in a spaceship. The highly cinematographic XYZ is intriguing. On a screen in the middle of a khaki green curtain, actor Jack Nance faces a den. The image from David Lynch’s famous film Eraserhead (1977) enhances this feeling. It defines the lounge wonderfully: a diegetic space filled with future fictions.

Read this article by Christophe Le Gac in the latest AA issue dedicated to Belgian architecture.