It’s like looking into a giant eye: Laizhou Bar has been assembled using 6000 pieces of wood from discarded whisky barrels. The whole experience of this whisky bar has won it an INDE.Award in 2023.
October 13th, 2023
The 2023 INDE.Awards winner of The Social Space has been announced and Laizhou Bar, a whisky bar by RooMoo Design Studio in China, has been recognised with the top honour.
Laizhou Bar is perfectly at home in its surrounds and pays tribute to the natural world through its materiality. As a bar that showcases Bacchus, a whisky distillery, the interior is on brand, original and sustainable, and packs the wow factor in spades.
Capral Aluminium, as the partner of The Social Space, is also passionate about sustainability – in its business and of course its products – so there is a resonance with the intention and realisation of Laizhou Bar. Capral Aluminium supports social environments that create better places for people to gather and connect in the understanding that this enhances life for the future.
Related: Biophilic design tactics with Capral

The 2023 INDE.Awards jury was also delighted by Laizhou Bar, commenting, “A visually exciting project, Laizhou Bar provides an experiential moment for patrons. The design pushes boundaries and detailing is exceptional. Utilising discarded wooden barrels for the interior decoration, while creating context, is a sustainable masterstroke and differentiates this project to make it a stand out.”
Laizhou Bar comprises a whisky tasting area, VIP room, bar area, kitchen, bathroom, and outdoor seating area. The site has been assembled using 6,000 pieces of discarded wooden barrels dismantled from the whisky barrels of the distillery. The dome structure on the top surface formed by these discarded wooden barrel pieces highlights this area as the centre of the space.
RooMoo Design studio has indeed interpreted the project to represent the brand but also created something new from old.
Related: Paying tribute to the Luminaries of the 2023 INDE.Awards

The double-ring structure on the top of the indoor tasting and bar area forms an infinite visual impression, echoing the distillery’s green and environmentally friendly whisky production methods.
As a destination, Laizhou Bar tops the list of ‘must-visit’ social spaces that provides the ultimate setting to communicate and connect.
Missed the INDE.Awards gala or just want to relive the highlights? Simply follow this link and sit back and enjoy the only regional celebration of architecture and design excellence.
RooMoo Design
roomoo.cn
Photography
Wen Studio
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