Transportation Metro: Farragut NorthPhone 202-785-9525
Website www.mialoungedc.com
Address 1214 18th st.
Washington, DC 20036
OVERVIEW:
After a night of drinking at the club, your mind can sometimes play tricks on you.
Are those giant lips all over the wall?
Did those girls just get free champagne in the bathroom?
Is that a 3-D hologram hovering over the dance floor?
And you really might start second-guessing your grip on reality when you see fire breathers, stilt walkers, professional pole dancers and a 6-foot-tall white bunny grinding with the ladies and taking photos with celebrities.
But this is the reality of the Miami-centric M.I.A. Lounge, midtown’s newest addition to the nightclub scene, located next to Dupont Circle's Public Bar. What sets the club apart, other than the aforementioned oddities, is the colorfulness and character of it all.
“I wanted this club to be unique from any other in the city,” said M.I.A. partner Mehdi Ben at the venue’s media night, covered exclusively by Metromix. “ Most clubs owned by a man look like they’re owned by a man. This one is designed by a woman because I wanted a feminine touch.”
That’s precisely what Ben received when he enlisted the services of HGTV personality and designer Yvette Irene (formerly Yvette Piaggio), whose previous D.C. project was designing Buddha Bar.
And just like Buddha Bar, Irene was given quite a canvas to work with at M.I.A. The venue, which took remarkably only two months to transform from the former Lupe Mexican Cantina into a posh nightclub space, has high ceilings and long brick walls that Irene painted hot pink.
Other soft touches include the “lip wall”—a wall loaded with images of lips, the “liquid table” that reacts to your touch, silver mannequins adorning the downstairs bar, a giant stripper pole, vinyl seating, and handcuffs and silver-painted machine guns on the bathroom walls.
“We definitely wanted to think outside the box,” said Irene of M.I.A.’s design. “We wanted everything to shimmer and sparkle.”
At the entrance guests are lured in either by the venue’s mascot—The M.I.A. Lounge Bunny—or by the silhouette of a dancer moving seductively above the doorway. Once inside white curtains fill the room, much like the Delano Hotel nightclub in South Beach.
D.C.-native and idesign owner Michael Meacham provided the lighting. His previous impressive work can be seen at Liv and Mynt in Miami, and the District's new Opera Ultra Lounge at McPherson Square.
Because of M.I.A.’s high-ceilings, Meacham was able to bring D.C.’s first right arm projector—a remarkable 360-degreee robotic rotating projector that can show any image from any angle. And because of the 360-degree capability, combined with the smoke machine from the upstairs DJ-booth, images shown from the projector appear to be in 3-D.
The state-of-the-art sound system at M.I.A. comes courtesy of Mood Bacho and Alex Haje of U.S.-based Baha Group, whose work can be heard at D.C. hotspots Opera, Josephine and Current.
If that weren’t enough to entice you, there’ll be live performances from saxophonist Natty Rico, world-class DJs, upcoming promotions from DTNation and Midnight Group, and let’s not forget that bunny.
“We called it M.I.A. for a reason,” said Ben of the venue’s acronym, which does in fact stand for 'missing in action.' “If you’re not coming here, you’re really missing the action.” ...Read more...
Are those giant lips all over the wall?
Did those girls just get free champagne in the bathroom?
Is that a 3-D hologram hovering over the dance floor?
And you really might start second-guessing your grip on reality when you see fire breathers, stilt walkers, professional pole dancers and a 6-foot-tall white bunny grinding with the ladies and taking photos with celebrities.
But this is the reality of the Miami-centric M.I.A. Lounge, midtown’s newest addition to the nightclub scene, located next to Dupont Circle's Public Bar. What sets the club apart, other than the aforementioned oddities, is the colorfulness and character of it all.
“I wanted this club to be unique from any other in the city,” said M.I.A. partner Mehdi Ben at the venue’s media night, covered exclusively by Metromix. “ Most clubs owned by a man look like they’re owned by a man. This one is designed by a woman because I wanted a feminine touch.”
That’s precisely what Ben received when he enlisted the services of HGTV personality and designer Yvette Irene (formerly Yvette Piaggio), whose previous D.C. project was designing Buddha Bar.
And just like Buddha Bar, Irene was given quite a canvas to work with at M.I.A. The venue, which took remarkably only two months to transform from the former Lupe Mexican Cantina into a posh nightclub space, has high ceilings and long brick walls that Irene painted hot pink.
Other soft touches include the “lip wall”—a wall loaded with images of lips, the “liquid table” that reacts to your touch, silver mannequins adorning the downstairs bar, a giant stripper pole, vinyl seating, and handcuffs and silver-painted machine guns on the bathroom walls.
“We definitely wanted to think outside the box,” said Irene of M.I.A.’s design. “We wanted everything to shimmer and sparkle.”
At the entrance guests are lured in either by the venue’s mascot—The M.I.A. Lounge Bunny—or by the silhouette of a dancer moving seductively above the doorway. Once inside white curtains fill the room, much like the Delano Hotel nightclub in South Beach.
D.C.-native and idesign owner Michael Meacham provided the lighting. His previous impressive work can be seen at Liv and Mynt in Miami, and the District's new Opera Ultra Lounge at McPherson Square.
Because of M.I.A.’s high-ceilings, Meacham was able to bring D.C.’s first right arm projector—a remarkable 360-degreee robotic rotating projector that can show any image from any angle. And because of the 360-degree capability, combined with the smoke machine from the upstairs DJ-booth, images shown from the projector appear to be in 3-D.
The state-of-the-art sound system at M.I.A. comes courtesy of Mood Bacho and Alex Haje of U.S.-based Baha Group, whose work can be heard at D.C. hotspots Opera, Josephine and Current.
If that weren’t enough to entice you, there’ll be live performances from saxophonist Natty Rico, world-class DJs, upcoming promotions from DTNation and Midnight Group, and let’s not forget that bunny.
“We called it M.I.A. for a reason,” said Ben of the venue’s acronym, which does in fact stand for 'missing in action.' “If you’re not coming here, you’re really missing the action.” ...Read more...
Overview courtesy of www.metromix.com
By: Alfredo Flores
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