Challenge
We were tasked with bringing Corona’s creative vision to life at Pergola Paddington; a Tulum-inspired paradise offering respite from the busy London life. As well as celebrating the heritage of Corona beer, the Mexican theme offered a chance to fully revamp the Pergola Paddington space, in its biggest overhaul yet.
A core part of the brief was to activate the Pergola venue, fresh for summer, centering around a campaign that aimed to drive brand awareness and bring in new audiences to enjoy the Pergola Paraíso experience. In order to deliver this project, we worked alongside Incipio on the creative and conceptualisation, as well as the project management and production.
Highlights:
- 2,542 footfall in the first weekend
- 1,000 bookings taken for summer in the first week of opening
- 17 pieces of press coverage (including Condé Naste Traveller, Evening Standard, London On The Inside, Design My Night, Secret London and more)
- 0 plastic used for the build, with a strong focus on reclaimed materials
- Capacity built for 850 over 2 floors
- 70 hours of build time
- 6 week turnaround
- 5 months live
Solution
The overall vision for Pergola Paraíso was to bring an oasis of free-spirited partying in the heart of London. This featured a complete transformation of Pergola Paddington into an 850-capacity Tulum inspired beach restaurant, for the summer season, sponsored by Corona. Incipio is known to turn newly discovered, forgotten and overlooked spaces into beautiful venues which defy convention, and we did just that.
In order to bring the bohemian essence of Tulum to life in London, we completely transformed the space; every sense was considered in the process, with your scent being awakened by rich copal incense; humid, tropical leaves transporting you to the beaches of Mexico; wooden swings, wicker seating and dream catchers as you would find in Tulum; plus the gentle vibrations of upbeat Mexican live music inviting you to move and dance. The archway was deliberately designed to attract the attention of passersby and regular Pergola-goers alike, giving them a hint of Mexican tranquillity right from the outset.
We considered every surface and corner of the Pergola Paddington space in our revamp. Sustainably-sourced and reclaimed oak was used in the build elements to keep the carbon footprint of this project to a minimum, following a carefully mapped ESAP put together by Marble. The bars at Pergola also remain completely plastic free. This also tied into Corona’s vision for a more sustainable and plastic-free event, fulfilling their brand vision whilst reducing our impact on the planet.
In order to provide exclusive group areas on the ground floor of Pergola, we built 20-person cabanas around the edge of the ground floor venue, handmade with reclaimed oak and draped in muslin and jute rope. This provided our client with the opportunity to increase the number of bookings over the course of summer 2022, transforming the space into a buzzing hub of activity in the centre of Paddington.