New Yorkers weary of soaring summer temperatures can pay $20 to chill at the city’s coolest new entertainment destination – the Minus5 Ice Bar. Located in Midtown at the Hilton on 6th Avenue, the $5 million venture is the third of its kind to open in the United States (the first two are both in Las Vegas). While we admit that the icy new venue is pretty amazing, it’s hard to ignore that maintaining the ice-lined walls is a pretty darn wasteful use of energy.
Everything at Minus5 is carved out of giant blocks of ice weighing roughly 100 pounds each – the bar top, the seats covered in fake deerskin, the lights and even the glasses. The owners boast that the establishment is made with 100 percent Canadian ice, but that boldly violates the holiest grail of sustainable development: use local materials to build structures that mesh with prevailing climatic conditions!
In northern climes like Canada and Scandinavia, ice bars and hotels make sense. But reproducing these trendy watering holes further south, particularly in the desert, just seems a bit silly – yet for now the icy trend seems to be sizzling hot. Minus5 is open as a tourist destination for the whole family from 2pm to 7pm, after which it turns into a bar/club.
Via NBC New York
