Concrete jungle: Kiev bar opts for brutal look

Beton, which takes its name from the French phrase béton brut, meaning raw concrete, is a karaoke bar, hookah lounge and dining room designed by architect Ivan Yunakov.

The bar’s aesthetic is brutalist sleek – the bulk of the interior features unfinished poured concrete flooring and raw two-by-fours, while the décor is in the form of mounted architectural diagrams and coral-coloured underfoot lighting. 

Dystopic set pieces, including a seemingly un-ironic iron curtain separate the venue’s different areas from its main dining room, keeping the atmosphere imaginative. 

Designers, architects and spacial curators are increasingly embracing an ultra-factory look, taking inspiration from a sci-fi visual toolkit to evoke an atmosphere of fantasy and mechanical theatricality. For more, see our Industrial Futurism design direction.