Black Sheep

In most peoples everyday blackbook of London, Croydon is known first and foremost for a few simple things; knife-crime, Allders and the Black Sheep bar. Crime, money and alcohol, quite an amazing Achilles heel combination of modern society when you take a step back from it. The knife-crime and Allders part however is ultimately down to ones personal opinion and mine being that I have yet to be stabbed, especially whilst in the death-maze that is the fragrance section of Allders, it is too big. However the Black Sheep bar nestled between corporate offices and a newsagent on the High St is well known by the propane fueled youth of South London and many travel throughout the week by train and the various night buses to soak their teenage angst in snake-bite and jagermeister.

We begin from the entrance doors, there is a bar at the front, three structural columns dividing the following space, then another bar and finally the toilets with trimmings of seating all up the left side and a raised platform with DJ booth on the right. The architecture of the Black Sheep is no doubt fascinating and when one begins to seriously consider the internal spaces and therefore the patterns of movement that are created one can begin to observe this as a reflection of the Black Sheep's elongated yet elementary layout. Flowering from this is a social Eden with each architectural aspect working together to allow for hubs of activity throughout the bar that in turn connect and flourish as the quantity of patrons increases. Almost everywhere in the Black Sheep has purpose you can stand anywhere and you will not feel disorientated, it is an amazing thing to have achieved, even if possibly by accident.

I strongly believe the Black Sheep would be a fascinating experience during the day with all its saucy lights on, a Mies van der Rohe Barcelona chair and a cup of coffee, because I am sure the space dictates differently during the vibrancy of the night. Perhaps the dark corners and crowds though is part and parcel of what makes the Black Sheep appealing, the fact that your spacial judgement and perspective is shrouded by these things and what lies in the depths is up to you alone. So maybe the whole ideology behind the Black Sheep both socially and architecturally is poetic and not prosaic, the idea that anything can be is the mystery and life of the space within.

A great deal of social and architectural changes have infected the Black Sheep bar over the years with many issues being bridged but just as many issues created, which makes guessing the future direction of the bar very difficult. Alas, like a limb being ripped off a movie villain the only suitable way I can see the bar finishing its life in Croydon would be reminiscent of a J.G.Ballard inspired chaotic blowout, the people as Vaughan and the architecture as the car.

tW

CR0 1NA

Once again we find ourselves at that time of year when the multiple bars of Croydon host the dreaded themed nights in the hope of raking in money from customers drowned in the eternal glee that is the pre and post Christmas season. The drinking culture in the UK has over the many years of its functioning inevitably generated a very competitive market amongst pubs, bars and clubs of which Croydon has seen the creation and deaths of many. Through the course of just a single year it is standard practice to witness at least two to three new drinking holes opening around Croydon and just as many closing, it seems the required combination of location, logic and luck to maintain a successful bar is not naturally acquired.

From the famous Black Sheep Bar to the lifeless Pop World the South end of Croydon High St hosts a lively street life with a wide selection of bars, yet one building has stubbornly refused to conform for many years now. Located under the Croydon flyover a single rigid black-box of a building currently known only by its postal code CR0 1NA has been the location of at least 4 major clubs over the last seven years; Somthing-pre-Escapade, Escapade, The Hub and Svelte. Each one welcoming you with open arms, promises of joy and enchanting cocktails but they all fracture and collapse eventually. No matter how many times businessman re-brand exactly the same building I fear this space is quite simply doomed to fail, for a success to be fashioned from this space a large architectural overhaul would be required.

Presently you are greeted at CR0 1NA with a very oppressive black paint smothered building, which only aids in disorientating the exterior space and imposing a strong characterless facade. This building could quite easily make a luxury electrical sub-station. However the skeleton is favorable, a small elongated bar upstairs facing onto the street and a much larger bar and dance area downstairs, the upstairs bar in theory would act as window shopping material providing free advertisement whilst the downstairs is the substance. Funnily enough all the business's utilised this set-up and all failed in some way or another, but the failure was always for other reasons. The most obvious example being The Hub's absolutely thoughtless and bait signage of monochrome half circles and aerial font, clearly masterminded by a businessman the signage only helped in completely repelling any custom that was considering going there.

Anyone can have their theories and plans for reinstating CR0 1NA but at the end of the day all it has produced so far is architecture with too much make-up on. Either this building can easily be saved by some make-up wipes and better integration to the street front; clearer and aesthetically pleasing lighting and visibility, or the curse of the CR0 1NA club is hopelessly unmanageable and we should accept the arrival of another restaurant and forget the buildings past architectural embarrassment.

tW