Designed by Ewert Leaf and conceived by them as a shared meeting place, Gathered Cafe is an uplifting and authentic hospitality proposition harnessed by the strength of its architectural setting.
Housed in a 19th-century wool store, the pared-back interior celebrates the sites industrial character while softly layering new interventions; an evolution of its historic identity.
Starting with a vision to transform the iconic heritage building into a welcoming venue, Ewert Leaf’s brief was threefold; to honour the qualities of the warehouse, foster a sense of community, and contribute to the surrounding mixed-use development.
The sites grand, cathedral-like windows, raw steel columns, and soaring six-metre-high ceilings presented a rich architectural canvas, driving the Ewert Leaf design team to develop a narrative around restraint, authenticity, and time.
A reduced palette of honest finishes, including crown-cut oak, antique brass, and natural leather sits in harmony with the sites raw material profiles.
The striking architectural features and lack of direct outlook drove the spatial planning to have an intentionally inward focus.
A coffee counter lined with panelled oak leads visitors through to the heart of the lofty warehouse, where leather-lined banquettes sweeps the perimeter, addressing an expansive dining area.
Thonet bentwood chairs and blackened steel pendants impart a sense of nostalgia and familiarity, while delicately detailed joinery takes cues from modernist furniture, providing a contemporary counter-balance.
The rigid envelope is softened by sheer linen drapery sheathing the windows, accentuating the sites verticality and tempering the abundant natural light.
From its varied industrial origins to its more recent use as the headquarters of Lonely Planet, the warehouse has been well utilised, but has never before had a public face.
The conversion of the building into There Cafe invites the community to participate in and contribute to the evolving narrative of the place, connecting with this valuable and historic asset.
The new Ewert Leaf design not only works respectfully within the parameters of the existing building, but brings to life its innate beauty.
The untreated industrial qualities of the building are embraced rather than clouded by the new intervention, thoughtfully distinguishing old from new.
Due attention has been paid to the lifecycle and environmental impact of the interior, favouring natural materials and local craftspeople.
Joinery was simplified and rationalised to reduce waste, while excess materials were reused where possible, such as the leather tab pulls which were made from banquette seat offcuts.
The space also accommodates the headquarters for the owners other businesses; a compact workplace and meeting area tucked on a mezzanine level, optimising the sites double-height volume.
This workplace, and the adjacent Fab9 co-working spaces, exist in mutual symbiosis with the cafe; the workplaces giving frequent patronage, the cafe a community-minded retreat to foster knowledge-sharing and the cross-pollination of ideas.
Key Products Used
- Site Paint – Porters Paint ‘Guerilla’, Porters Paint ‘Ashen, Porters Paint ‘Camoflage’
- Tile Benchtops – Academy Tiles – Plimepaplika ‘76998/ HC 273’
- Leather Upolstery – Pelle Leathers – Semi-Aniline / Smooth Grain ‘Colorado Thatched’
- Timber Veneer – Timberwood Panels – American Oak
- Wall Lights – Fat Shack Vintage – Glass Ball Gooseneck Wall Light
- Drapery – Mokum – Shoji ‘Mist’
Project Details
Project Size – 300 m2
Project Budget – $750,000
Completion Date – 2019
Building Levels – 1
Project Team
Interior Design
Ewert Leaf
Ewert Leaf, led by Will Leaf and Toby Ewert, has a strong culture of inclusion and diversity, where team members with different expertise work together to develop the best design solutions possible.
A supportive environment of collaboration and innovation ensures that they not only produce great work, but love what they do.
Photography
Jenah Piwanski
Jenah Piwanski is an established commercial photographer based in Melbourne, Australia with expertise in still life, food, interiors, and lifestyle photography.
Photo Gallery
Click on a thumbnail image to enlarge.
Design © 2020 Ewert Leaf. All Rights Reserved.| Images © 2020 Jenah Piwanski. All Rights Reserved.
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