Project Overview

Its amazing what you can you do with a bowling alley and an old biscuit tin!
This project was to take tired bowling alley, situated in the old Arnott's Biscuits factory precinct, in North Strathfield and transform it into a modern, multifaceted entertainment venue - a 'must go' destination for young socials, appealing also to corporates and families alike.

Organisation

AMF BOWLING (Ardent Bowling & Ent DIv)

Team

The project team was Lead by Mike Davies - Head of Development & Facilities AMF and Managed by his team, supported by the functions within the company - Design, Marketing & Products, Food & Beverage, Operations, Purchasing, IT & Finance . The Architect was Jose D'Allista from Ignite Architects Pty. Ltd and The Builders were Lexon Group P/L.

Project Brief

Imagine the assault on the senses - a harshly fluoro-lit barn, with no respite from the constant clatter of bowling ball against pins; competing with the random electronic notes of nameless arcade games, punctuated by waves of kids as they emerge screaming from the party room, hot dog in hand, waving coloured hats and showbags.

But the face of entertainment is changing, with millennials and young socials, very much in charge of the purse strings and treasuring experience over possessions. Social media is driving #FOMO and high expectations of food quality and interior décor are driven by an endless round of reality shows.

The brief was to re-image this echoing space into a venue to smash the Saturday night plans of young socials. To be the first choice of a mum with kids, young couple, mates or colleagues alike. A place to relax or celebrate, find their space and create their own brand of entertainment. This was to be the new face of Kingpin.

First the attractions - bowling of course, and laser tag, a Playtime arcade with a prize room to rival a toy shop, escape rooms, karaoke and stuff to do for free. Then, a place to party, a sports bar for those who prefer to watch than play, somewhere to sit and eat or just relax comfortably.

Where to start?

Project Innovation/Need

Forget your preconceived notions of a bowling alley. Enter the designer-lit reception with pallet-clad reception desks to choose your experience. This is a place you want to hang out and be seen - don a crown, take a selfie on the oversize throne (#weareroyal) & tell the world you're here. The Hub is the place to meet, with cosy booths for groups, dining tables for eating gastro-pub style food, ordered from the VW combi truck and soft seating with large format free games to chill out or entertain small children. The activities radiate from here, a signpost shows the way. Each activity is zoned with character - a new adventure, so you can create you own. The bowling lanes are retro in decor featuring stencilled graphics & large format black & white photos and those famous cable reel lamps, above each chesterfield sofa booth. Beware the Dragon Warbot in the Live laser Arena. Playtime contains over 100 new arcade games and the Winners Vault is packed with prizes that put a Christmas toy shop to shame. Room 300, our function space (named for the perfect score), is pure vintage, recycled-chic. Leather chesterfields, stripped plaster, recycled beams & old style pool table - recycled picture frames serve as lamps & wall decoration - its the juxtaposition of old world & latest TMS/BES-X bowling technology, its unique, its cool & we haven't even mentioned big screens, the Sports Bar and Karaoke.

Design Challenge

The two key challenges:
- How to make bowling cool?
- How to transform a barn with high ceilings into differentiated spaces without a huge investment in walls and ceilings?
We believe that taking inspiration from the local heritage gave the overall theme a personality & resonance with our target. Each activity and customer occasion was thought-through to design a series of zones which were separated not by physical walls but by lighting, ambience and sound. In fact where possible we kept the visibility, using natural obstacles, pallets and windows into different areas. Recycled timber beams, corrugated iron squares and simple light fittings were suspended to created cosy nooks in contrast to brightly-lit bowling lanes and the twinkling, coloured lights of the arcade & laser arena. Separate crowd DJ kiosks play a different vibe of music in each major zone. Each zone feels self-contained and yet promotes a flow through the venue to choose that which suits the mood and the occasion best.
So did we make bowling cool? Check out our write up in Urban List: https://www.theurbanlist.com/sydney/directory/kingpin-north-strathfield and see our Facebook and Instagram pages. Never a day goes past without selfies from the throne. If posting is the ultimate form of sharing & recommendation, were taking it as a compliment. #weareroyal

Sustainability

Throughout the venue we have used, low volatile compound materials, re-constituted stone, energy-efficient lighting, water-based paints and a special vinyl floor only requiring water-based cleaning.

The new TMS pin-setting technology is proven to reduce energy consumption and improve team safety, due to the reduction in heavy machinery and moving parts. This technology is now being introduced across our other venues.

Most importantly we have celebrated sustainability in a retro-chic vibe. Building on the heritage of the building and its surrounding we have utilised recycled materials, such as huge wooden cable reels suspended from the ceiling as giant lamp shades. The old semi-plastered brick walls from the original factory are heroed in our function space, Room 300, where recycled doors and window form the new walls. Recycled timbers were used to create huge double barn doors and a feature ceiling. Old windows frame the view into karaoke and the Winners Vault. Recycled pallets form a wall between the bowling lanes and dining area which has a lowered ceiling made of recycled corrugated iron. A pre-loved VW combi has been stretched with some clever coachwork to re-birth it into our own in-house food truck.