A recycled timber plank entrance bay that projects into Entertainment Avenue is a new design aesthetic for the O2 and is the main Brooklyn Bowl entrance. The recycled corrugated iron roof is dramatically shaped by skewed triangular clerestory lighting set within the roof to create external focus, and internal drama.
A technically advanced sound-proof, timber-clad window can be raised to allow glimpses of the venue’s atmospheric interior, and lowered and sealed when bands are playing to prevent noise escaping, and to add to the authentic Coney Island experience inside.

The timber entrance leads the visitor through a check in lobby with deliberately uneven and lowered ceilings into a dramatic double height space that overarches all the activities. The music arena has a stage and floor space for 500 standing or dancing, with additional viewing space from the main bar and the lanes. Barr Gazetas’ designs make a distinctive feature of Richard Rogers’ iconic ‘Quadropods’ which are celebrated with clever lighting and an oversized mirror ball.

The restaurant links directly to the main venue space, but a more intimate environment is created by a dividing open shelving unit stacked with rows of American fairground ‘knockdown punks’. Although quintessentially American, the ‘punks’ were individually handcrafted in Yorkshire. The mezzanine level is reached by a broad, sweeping plank staircase with fairground elements decorating the stairwell. The ladies toilet on the first floor allows a secret bird’s eye view of the venue below from a separate rest area.