Located at the base of the Rialto within the historic financial heart of Melbourne, this design by Studio Esteta, draws upon the context of the site and the values of the Sensory Lab brand to reimagine and recreate the previously generic sandwich, salad, and coffee experience.
The brief sought a clever and compact design to showcase in equal measure, both a coffee and a grab and go food offering, a first for the brand.
The open plan layout sought to maximise the small footprint of the tenancy and blur the division between patron and service zones.
Inspired by the warm tones of traditional European espresso bars, the Studio Esteta design is rich in detail but similarly paired back and refined, exuding a contemporary elegance and sophistication.
The palette is intentionally minimal but textural, adopting traditional and honest finishes including rendered walls, reclaimed herringbone timber, aged metals and marbles, all being accentuated by delicate bronze and brass detailing.
Taking into account the site’s context and the target market of business people, the design is refined and sophisticated to create a high end, express style, hospitality offering.
The food is prepared in-house and showcased through a burgundy-framed structure lined with obscured glazing to cleverly control sight lines into the kitchen, and back-of-house areas.
Upon entering, patrons are met with a monolithic tarnished bronze counter that exhibits the food offering and simultaneously guides the grab and go procession.
The layout enables a fluid and seamless spatial flow and is clever and considered from an operational and user experience perspective.
Of equal significance to the food, the coffee station is strategically placed to maintain patron engagement and assist with spatial flow.
Seating is limited to an intimate corner banquette for small groups, accompanied by a Venetian styled standing bar that visualizes an eloquent scene of coffee goers.
Sensory Lab, Rialto advances contemporary hospitality design as it demonstrates a holistic approach to programmatic requirements partnered with aesthetic appeal that captures the essence of the brand, in a manner that is unique to its predecessors and sympathetic to its site context.
The design is refined, rich and layered with texture as well as an activity to create a unique high end grab and go experience.
The theatre of the finishing kitchen, which creates a scenic backdrop behind the monolithic food display counter, lures patrons and seeks to create an all-encompassing, multi-sensory experience that seeks to transport one, if only momentarily.
The innovative approach to the spatial planning blurs the typical division between the front and back of house zones to showcase the production of its offering.
Aesthetics and functionality are addressed simultaneously to create a space that is clever and considered and in turn a sustainable design outcome.
Project Details
Completion Date – 2018
Project Team
Interior Architecture
Studio Esteta
Founded in 2015 by directors Sarah Cosentino and Felicity Slattery, Studio Esteta embraces the understanding that beauty – sometimes raw and unpredictable – has many facets.
Often these can be found in the many subtle, bespoke details that elevate a design, set it apart and work in harmony to evoke a sense of surprise and delight.
Studio Esteta strives to always approach the built form, materials and project briefs with a worldly outlook, eschewing trends in favour of a more considered, directional and wholly tailored approach leading to contemporary designs of a refined and timeless nature.
Based in Melbourne, Studio Esteta specialises in a range of sectors and scales and is dedicated to creating responsive and holistic design solutions that reflect the unique personalities, commercial objectives and site-specific needs of the individuals and brands they work alongside.
Photography
Sharyn Cairns
Sharyn is at the forefront of commercial photography in Australia, with a specialist portfolio spanning interiors, food, travel, and lifestyle. She is committed to creating beautiful images that capture a mood and an emotion, playing with light and shadows to create levels of depth and distinctive memorable scenes.
Her work is featured in notable international and local magazines: Gourmet Traveller, Vogue Living, Belle, Dwell, Kinfolk, Elle Decoration UK, House and Garden UK, Living Etc UK and many others.
Sharyn collaborates with architects, designers and creatives on unique projects and has photographed numerous cookbooks for well-known chefs such as Maggie Beer, Shane Delia, Guy Grossi, Tobie Puttock and Jacques Reymond.
Photo Gallery
Click on a thumbnail image to enlarge.
Design © 2020 Studio Esteta. All Rights Reserved.| Images © 2020 Sharyn Cairns. All Rights Reserved.
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