The brief called for a takeaway seafood bar, serving the 9-to-5 office worker for lunch and dinner, directly to the street and to a small dine-in crowd. The client knew that he wanted ‘something different’, something that would stand out against other venues in the area and unlike other typical seafood bars. The small site needed to work at maximum efficiency, with a service point to the street key to the operation of the business. The front of house space is divided into two – a sterile and clean service side; and a textural, inviting space for customers. The venue is casual, but refined, considered and unique. Efficient back of house operation and service to the street was prioritised. The kitchen layout was designed in close collaboration with the client and chef to ensure maximum efficiency throughout prep, cooking and service to the interior and street.
Imperial Doncaster brings the epitome of modern urban living to one of Melbourne’s most rapidly changing suburbs. The 93 unit complex was designed to appeal to a wide demographic, easily catering to the needs of downsizing owner-occupiers with bigger apartment sizes and generous balcony spaces. The design takes into consideration the local suburbs, parks, shopping centre and already established businesses, seeking a balance between the economical, environmental and aesthetic.
Palm Beach House project is the transformation of an existing waterfront holiday villa in Palm Beach, Sydney. The project is a restrained approach to a traditional European vernacular, exploring bespoke quality detailing, materiality and architectural framing.
With the existing house ineffectively dealing with scale limitations, the brief was primarily to explore how we could reintroduce a higher quality of spatial resolution. The plans and volumes were subsequently rationalized around better circulation, view corridors and access to the water.
An architect from Sydney and his team acquire a listed commercial building. The newly furnished rooms show in an exemplary fashion how a lighting solution for offices which is based on perception-oriented lighting design can be both effective and pleasing.
Brickface is a compact building situated at the rear of an existing house in Richmond, Melbourne. It consists of a garage at ground level, studio living/guest suite at first floor, and a roof deck. A new pool and entertaining space extends the home’s entertaining area, while the roof terrace becomes the missing productive garden. The main living area of the existing house faces south and opens up onto the new terrace and pool. The backdrop to this view is the rising high wall of Brickface.
In a row of workers’ cottages, there is one Dark Horse – a handsome creature. The stepped parapet, centred window, sidelined door and entrance awning are carried with the familiar, unassuming composure of its neighbours. Yet here the materials, stark in their composition, have a distinctly 21st century character, hinting at the contemporary home within.
Set on a windswept hillside overlooking Bass Strait sits a modular home that allows the epic coastal location to be experienced in all its many states.
The project evolved from a pragmatic response to the challenges of occupying an exposed coastal site. Winds, often extreme, shaped the design with the house acting as a barrier and protecting the external courtyard tucked in behind.
Melbourne Design Studios (MDS) are terrifically adaptable. Given a brief for contemporary new residences for a development, the team also took on the dilapidated heritage home on the allotment, transforming it into ‘Waltham Jewel’, one of Richmond’s finest homes.