Once home to nightlife concept Riffs Raffs, Manhattan nightclub Squares immerses guests in a vintage atmosphere that honors refined design principles as viewed through a pixilated kaleidoscope. Michael Stillman of restaurant group Quality Branded envisioned a cheeky concept that both celebrates traditional elements and upends them, looking to local studio Reunion Goods & Services to design the venue to feel tied to the NoMad neighborhood’s history and grandeur, but in an unconventional fashion.
“There’s been a movement towards creating new ‘vintage’ spaces recently. We felt there were enough of those places that we wanted to create something that was old yet new,” notes Laura Flam, director of interiors at Reunion. “In our initial conversations, we came to the idea of recreating a ‘pixelated facsimile’ of a quintessential old club—using tiles instead of actual found objects, and vintage taxidermy.”
In crafting the distilled club concept, the team sourced a stockpile of images and drawings that depicted historic environments—from university libraries to London gentlemen’s clubs. In order to give the imagery a modern treatment, the team wielded the language of pixel art—from Ancient Greek mosaics to 8-bit arcade games and phone emojis—through the use of tiles.
Square’s walls are outfitted with tens of thousands of Japanese mosaic tiles, accented with a variety of glazed brick tiles and wood. Veined faux marble floors are influenced by some of the more noble settings researched, like castles and town halls, while Art Deco Hollywood furniture inspired the oak and brass tables. Unexpected novelties enhance the depth of the design, casting a wide net of visual tropes, from high heels peeking out from the mosaic-tiled stage “curtain” to distorted depictions of racquets and ships in a bottle. The focal point DJ booth is even outfitted with a tile fireplace and pixelated stag’s head.
Finding the balance between the venue’s different functions posed a unique opportunity. “The north wall of Squares has huge windows that are gorgeous for daytime events but need to be covered up for the club. The other walls in the place are so intricately detailed that just putting up curtains, even incredibly beautiful ones, sounded like a cop out,” Flam explains. Instead, the team designed large 13-foot-tall window shades “designed to look like they were made from the same 1-inch tile used throughout the room.”
Lighting also plays a pivotal role in setting the perfect mood regardless of the hour. “Considering the space’s dual functionality—banquet hall by day and nightclub by night—the lighting design needed to be flexible and accommodate both settings,” Flam adds.
LED fixtures accent combinations of matte and glossy tiles around the perimeter, which is lined with banquettes broken into small sections to provide privacy while remaining connected to the environment. Antiqued mirror chandeliers crown the space, channeling disco balls, and walls behind the bar are adorned with vintage turtle sconces from the 1970s framed with a custom mosaic of fishing spears made from black glass and 24-karat gold.
