Angel Club, perched high on a hill in Prague 5–Smíchov has long been an icon for the gay crowd, famous for its throbbing music and anything-goes attitude. But when a new owner took over and decided to keep the name while trying to attract a more mainstream clientele, it was clear the space would need a complete floor-to-ceiling overhaul to go along with the image change.

After more than a year of toil and sweat, the doors to Angel Club are open again, this time showcasing an interior that's equal parts grit and modern sleekness. Simply put, this is not your cousin's Angel Club.

"It was definitely hard work," manager Robert Kincl says.

The team behind the new look was Kincl and two established designers from Prague-based Hotový Interior, Jan Vacek and Viliam Ladziansky. The designers' past interests and training were key in the project's realization. Vacek has been interested in plastic arts since high school, while Ladziansky studied both architecture and design. When he finally had to choose between those two loves, Ladziansky picked design.

"I had to make up my mind between construction architecture and interiors, and eventually I chose the latter," he says. "I felt that furniture and interiors offer more possibilities. You can be creative even in the most minor of tasks."

Still, the Angel Club project called for a high degree of creativity. "We remember [the old interior], which is rather hard to describe," Ladziansky says. "However, we were not depressed. We believed from the very start that we would be able to make something out of the place."

What followed was a grueling schedule that saw the team craft an entire new look, from the front bar area to the inside of the bathrooms.

"The concept was partly based on the character of the original cellar premises," Vacek says. "We decided to add on to this look, which meant submitting to the brutal and technical character of the cellar. To bring contrast, we designed a main room with a bar and a dance floor that's pure and simple."

The front bar area of the old club had a disco feel, with basic wooden stools, mirrors, and vinyl records covering the walls. The new bar is pure Euro science fiction, with white chairs that invoke columns and a bar with an illuminated surface.

"We wanted the interior furnishings to be unified, in harmony," says Ladziansky. "We wanted to bring dynamics and suspense to the place. The elements are white, a pure contrast with the concrete-covered walls.

"The chairs and other furniture come from an Italian company named Driade. Their organic look softens the straight, square shapes inside. The bar stools look like statues."

The VIP room is more casual, with cozy couches, while the back room functions as the Internet cafe. The Internet room is a study in contrast, with shiny new computers, complete with flat-screen monitors, surrounded by rough brick walls. The lights, clear bulbs hanging from the ceiling, are straight from Thomas Edison.

Lighting plays a huge role throughout the club now. In the main room, the lights shift and change colors through an advanced LED diode light system run from inside the bar area.

"The LED system changes the mood and atmosphere of the place," Ladziansky says. "For the other rooms, we used lights similar to those found in a cellar. The light coming in from under a hinge in the bar area creates an atmosphere of intimacy and mystery."

Ultimately, the team behind Angel Club hopes the rebirth woos a wide spectrum of guests. And with the new look, the name has taken on a new connotation, as the very nature of the design invokes a certain ethereal quality, the sensation of hovering above it all from some heavenly perch.