DESIGN FOCUS: SCOTTS, LARGS

Buzzworks has opened its second Scotts in Largs. Jason Caddy issues his verdict on the design.
There’s a buzz in Largs at the moment. The proprietor of the local petrol station enquired after where I was heading and, when I mentioned Scotts at the Yacht Harbour, his eyes lit up. As it turns out he’d been twice in as many weeks and was planning a third trip that weekend. ‘It’ll do wonders for the town,’ he said.
Scotts in Largs opened last month, and scooped Rekorderling Cider New Bar of the Year at this year’s DRAM awards. Owners Colin and Kenny Blair of Ayrshire-based Buzzworks Holdings lavished a cool £900K on the outlet in Scotland’s largest marina. Their second Scotts after Troon, the brothers are renowned for their detail-oriented work and, in tandem with both Thr3 Design and Nord Architects, they have delivered an outstanding outlet with so much going on.
“The main consideration for the design brief was incorporating what Kenny calls the “Scotts’ DNA.” He explains, “There are certain key elements that make the design of Scotts in Troon unmistakably Buzzworks and we wanted to bring these to Largs, too. The wooden floor, the pebble wall, the wall-mounted fire, and the bamboo canes.”
So what is it like inside? The DNA similarity certainly gives it echoes of Scotts in Largs, the main difference being that it is all situated on the ground floor. The outdoor area is just as striking as the interior, with many nods to its nautical theme. Grey slate water features and driftwood are situated in amongst all the silver aluminium chairs and marble top tables.
The nautical theme is immediately evident as soon as you walk through the front door. Quite literally. There’s an £11K fish tank containing living coral and fish all named after the characters in the film Finding Nemo. Says Kenny, “The reason it was so expensive is because it contains a living coral reef.” Bathed in a blue light, and with lots of beautiful brightly coloured tropical fish, it’s both relaxing and mesmeric. It can be viewed from inside the bar too.
As for the rest of the design, it’s essentially one space with a central island bar, around which there are three seating areas.
The original building was a lot smaller and what is effectively a conservatory area was designed by Nord Architects, compromising three window walls with views over Cumbrae, making it extremely light and airy. However, it has neither a glass or (like Scotts in Troon) a retractable roof. There are darker pockets on the opposite side of the bar, where there are no windows.
The central bar is like a glittering emerald in a crown. There’s a 1930s/40s glamour to it as both the mirrored gantry and ceiling smack of the art deco era. The mirrored theme continues around the bar front, below which is a wooden parquet effect. At the side of the bar facing you as you enter is a chilled cabinet displaying all the cakes and pastries.
Along the right hand side of the bar (as you enter) are five horseshoe booths. They have mottled velvet backs in green, coupled with soft brown leather seats. Behind them are wall mounted mirrors which are quite funky. Triangular mirrored pieces of glass have been mounted on a mirror and it looks a bit like pyramid jigsaw pieces piled on top of each other.
Beyond here at the back of the bar are more booths, a lovely long high-ish wooden table with silvery stools, four more booths and a wood burner. Again, there’s an interesting mixture of textures and materials, ranging from brown leather paired with green/pink velour and silver for the seating, to reclaimed wood wallpaper. From a distance this looks like they’ve taken reclaimed some wood from a ship yard and stuck it to the wall. This is the pub element of Scotts.
Edging round the bar slightly, towards the extension, are the wine fridges and racks. A wall of them with lots of oak, silver and polished glass, which is a lot more cocktail-oriented.
Then we come to the main seating area. There’s a dividing unit with fixed banquette seating all the way round, on top of which are the bamboo sticks, all arranged at different angles from the ceiling to the top of the unit. There’s also seating all around the edge of the space next to the windows, and this is where most of the customers want to dine. On the day I was there, it was pretty much full by 11.30am.
“I’m obsessed with every minutiae of the business,” says Colin Blair. “No detail is too insignificant to overlook. For example, I saw the hand dryer in the toilets at a trade show four years ago. Now it’s in all our venues. And don’t get me started on the toilet roll – I could write a thesis on it. It took us six months to find one that doesn’t disintegrate, and that is dispensed fluidly. It all adds to the quality experience and we are in the business of making our outlets better than people’s homes. If they can get an M&S meal for two and Sky HD, then the enticement to come out and spend their money has to be stronger. The design is crucial in this.”
And as well as the power hand dryers and indestructible loo roll, the toilet design with its sleek grey tiling, white wash basins, trendy porcelain ware and ginger and ginseng hand wash are absolutely superb touches and right at home in an outlet of such high calibre.
I also got to see behind the scenes and I have to say that the staff are treated to equally as lavish restroom facilities, and a snazzy staff room, painted in calming green, with a Fat Boy seat (a giant bean bag), trendy white furniture and a plasma and Apple mac computer. How things have moved on since I worked in bars and restaurants in the 90s!
People will travel from miles around to Scotts, and the clientele so far has been made up from a mixture. “We have attracted a lot of customers from Largs, West Kilbride, and a smattering from South Ayrshire. But there are 750 boats moored here over 100 people working here, too,” says Kenny.
The brothers never rest on their laurels, so it’s no surprise that there’s a phase two. Kenny explains, “We chose to do the ground floor first of all, and once the dust has settled, we’ll tackle upstairs, which will be principally fine and private dining.”