Challenge

We were asked to convert the interior of an iconic Hong Kong tram into a moving restaurant / social club on wheels to accommodate a sitting of 27 guests and wait staff complete with 3 distinct dining rooms, a prep kitchen, and toilet.

• Convert a decommissioned tram destined for scrap into a social club on wheels
• Had to have capacity for 27 guests and 4 wait staff
• 3 distinct dining rooms for 3 distinct dining experiences
• Transport department safety standards had to be met
• Had to have plumbing for kitchen and toilet

Solution

The Circus Tram was designed and built over a period of 6 months. The greatest challenge was to design within a tiny space with little margin for error so that it could contain 3 distinct dining rooms, a kitchen, and a toilet. With this in mind we fitted the tram's three rooms in unique styles. Darwin's Garden, the largest of the three rooms, evokes a mobile garden. The Freudian Room references sleek modernist design and incorporates floor to ceiling windows that open up on a balcony. Chatham House, on the ground floor, is an atmospheric gentleman's club of old.

Great care was taken to accomodate all the practical aspects of the tram including its machinary, electronics and plumbing. Warm even LED lighting replaced the original harsh fluorescent lighting softening the tram’s ambience.

Original features such as the tram’s original teak frame and brass fittings were cleaned up and emphasized to create a sublime experience.

• Completely gut the tram's interior
• Repaint ceiling and restore original brass fittings and teak frame
• Lay new flooring
• Custom build and manufacture seating and tables for max capacity
• Rewire the tram and install LED lighting to replace fluorescents

Outcome

The Circus Tram was and continues to be a success. It is consistently booked to capacity and is draws attention and admiration wherever it goes.

• Design was successfully executed despite constraints
• Restaurant solidly booked for entire event
• Generates favourable press