South African company, Thor Ice, announce the construction, and opening, of South Africa's first Ice Lounge bar and club, which will be located at the V&A Waterfront from November 2006 for a four month period, promising to be one of the best things to do in Cape Town for people looking for some cool down time in the hot Cape Town summer season.

Local company Thor Ice have undertaken the mammoth task of constructing, and opening to the public, a venue made entirely from ice. Similar venues have opened around the world with ice lounges and ice bars being constructed in London, Sydney, Milan and Stockholm, the latter attracting over 100 000 visitors a year. The Ice Lounge in Cape Town is a first.

Thor Ice have over the last 5 years introduced innovative means of branding and product display through ice carving and creative frozen product inserts. This experience and the passion to see their medium being leveraged to its full capacity spawned the idea of constructing the region's first lounge or bar of this kind.

Both Cape Town and Johannesburg were considered as locations for the project but ultimately Cape Town's cosmopolitan nature won favour with the creators who have visited similar venues in trendy cities across the globe.

The Ice Lounge will invite visitors to step into a subzero environment where everything is made out of ice. The walls, pillars, kiddies slide, benches and seating, the bar, elegant hand carved sculptures and even the glass you drink out of is made from ice.

Obvious challenges such as the blistering Cape summer temperature aside, construction of the Ice Lounge will take teamwork between engineers and logistics managers to new heights.

The Ice Lounge will be located next to CD Wherehouse at the V&A Waterfront but before the freezer doors are swung open in November, a lot of ice needs to make its way to Cape shores.

The journey begins in Canada where 45 tons of structural ice will be made before being shipped to Cape Town. After 6 to 8 weeks at sea, the containers are unloaded in Cape Town and placed into massive freezer storage facilities, a careful process in which the exact packing order needs to be maintained if the build is going to run according to schedule and without any wastage.

An additional 10 tons of ice will be manufactured locally to complete the required amount for this ambitious undertaking. A fleet of 8 ton trucks will shuttle the ice to the building site where forklifts lift and place the ice.

Construction of the 200m� Ice Lounge is planned to take 1 month. The lounge will be housed within a giant marquee and 600m� of thick freezer panelling. To assist in wearing off the effects of an African summer, 4 condenser units will keep the environment at a teeth chattering -5�C. A team of 15 will rotate in shifts to ensure that once underway, the construction process doesn't cease until completion.

The company's experience has been gained in Canada and Europe but is proudly South African with local partners and employees, 6 of whom hail from Soweto and now make a permanent living with Thor Ice as ice carvers.

The Ice Lounge will welcome visitors young and old from 9:00am to 5pm daily. Ponchos are handed out at the door to keep visitors warm while they explore, children especially will want to stay and experience the thrill of shooting down the ice slide. A tour of the Ice Lounge includes a brief explanation and audio visual material of the construction process.

After 5pm, the Ice Lounge transforms into the most unique cocktail bar on the continent. Sip cocktail sundowners as the sun sets over the waterfront and party the night away in the icy but high tech surrounds thanks to the installation of state-of-the-art audiovisual equipment.

Careful consideration was taken during the design process to ensure that the venue will be able to be serviced by food and beverage operators, making the Ice Lounge an ideal venue for private and corporate functions.

Daytime entry to this extra sensory experience costs R50 for adults and R35 for children under the age of 13. Entry after 5pm costs R75 and includes a complimentary cocktail. Tickets can be pre booked through Computicket and bookings will open in mid October.

Molo Says: "Find more articles in our Things to do in Cape Town at night section on bars and...