Profile
Type
Commercial
Location
Middle Park, Victoria, Australia
Traditional Owners
Bunurong
Completed
2005
Images
Eli Grieg
The concept was to provide a comfortable place to eat and drink that combined the existing materials such as Baltic Pine floor boards, cement bagged walls and pressed metal cladding with the more contemporary aesthetics such as polycarbonate, polished black granite and oxidising paint.
A highly visual feature bulkhead designates specific seating areas for the small floor area. It ranges from an open communal table to the more intimate banquet seats and tables, without the use of partitioning. Its rusted steel finish is perceived as being solid and heavy to the observer as well as providing a comfortable and warm mood to the room.
It maintains an open plan while also reducing the existing high ceiling level to the front without completely enclosing and makes a visual path to the kitchen at the rear.
Customers are able to see and talk to the staff while they work but low glazed screening to the preparation areas and a change in level keep actual operations concealed maintaining a person aspect to the business without revealing the food preparation process.
Due to the spaces extremely narrow width, successful pragmatics was essential for the operations of the kitchen and front of house and to maintain access to the rear amenities.
It was shortlisted for an Interior Design Awards in 2005.