THE WATCH THAT ENDS THE NIGHT

The Watch That Ends the Night is an exciting restaurant situated at the base of King’s Wharf in Dartmouth where customers can enjoy stunning views of Halifax. Located within walking distance to Dartmouth’s emerging downtown and the public passenger ferry, the project is easily accessed by locals on both shores of the Halifax harbour. This project used a rich mid-century modern aesthetic to foster a variety of engaging social interactions within it. Our firm’s integrated design-build approach allowed us to generate a serene, hand-crafted, tactile experience that immerses its clients in a rich nightlife setting.  

Although there seems to be a recent resurgence of the Scandinavian mid-century modern aesthetic that favours subtle birch and maple wood tones paired with crisp white walls, our initial design intent with The Watch was to play with an eclectic interpretation of this mid-century modern style. We chose clean finishing lines and an honest representation of materials common to designers of this period, we chose to combine the warm and inviting hues of teak and mahogany favoured by Hans Wegner or Rudolph Schindler. Furthermore, our design team drew inspiration from the textile and patterning tradition found in the work of William Morris and later Frank Lloyd Wright. 

Our firm takes great pride in designing and building custom millwork and furniture in nearly every project. The project showcases a wide variety of rich Mahogany finishes and dark patterned wall paper that pays direct homage to mid-century interior aesthetics. Our design firm worked tirelessly with our internal millwork team to create a high level of craftsmanship throughout the entirety of the project. The mahogany under lit bar draws customers into a spacious lounge that overlooks the Halifax harbour. A large hand-crafted banquette provides a spatially interconnected tactile experience which caters to a wide range of social interactions. Custom mahogany storage units behind the bar provide an efficient and aesthetically cohesive environment for the busy serving and kitchen staff.

Channelling a wide range of mid-century inspiration allowed us to create a warm and inviting social space that generates a unique and playful aesthetic. The Watch displays the firm’s desire to continually learn and draw direct inspiration from previous generations of designers and craftsmen. The handcrafted approach to the interior design provides a great opportunity to dine in a completely immersive social experience.   

Architecture and Design: Peter Braithwaite Studio Ltd. (Peter Braithwaite, Matt Gillingham) 

Construction: Peter Braithwaite Studio Ltd. (Ben Biggley, Peter Braithwaite, Tom Lutes, Ryan McNeill)

Art and Branding Direction: Land Faculty Design Studio

Photographs: Alexa Cude, Julian Parkinson

Drawings and Models: Matt Gillingham, Peter Braithwaite