Victorian venues bag the most gongs in Eat Drink Design awards
Victorian venues across metropolitan and regional areas stole the limelight at this year’s Eat Drink Design Awards, which reward innovation and design excellence in the hospitality industry.
While NSW produced no winners, venues in Victoria snared five of the eight awards, which were announced on Tuesday night.
Designs in South Australia (two wins) and the ACT (one) were also recognised.
Brae Restaurant Accommodation, in Victoria’s Birregurra, pays homage to its rural landscape. Photo: Trevor Mein
“We were excited by projects where the designer had successfully told the narrative of the venue through careful selection of materials, colours and forms,” jury chair and Artichoke magazine editor Cassie Hansen said.
“The standard keeps getting better and better and my fellow jurors and I agree that Australia is at the forefront of global hospitality design.”
A new hotel category has been added to the awards this year, reflecting the rise of the tourism and accommodation industry in Australia and New Zealand.
Timber walls inside the guest suites at Brae complement the farmland views. Photo: Trevor Mein
“So many great new hotels have been popping up all over Australia, many with a strong focus on food and drink. It seemed only natural to add a new category to recognise outstanding design in the hotel sector,” Ms Hansen said.
Brae Restaurant Accommodation, in Victoria’s Birregurra, took the top gong in the hotel design category.
Located nearly two hours from Melbourne, the restaurant and guesthouse with six suites is set across more than 12 hectares of farmland.
The building itself nods to the shearing sheds and farmhouses in rural areas with its corrugated steel roof, red-brick façade and timber interiors, underscoring the earthiness of the Australian landscape.
The banquettes at the Chandon cellar door are inspired by Parisian bistros. Photo: Tom Blanchford
Designed by Six Degrees Architects, the guesthouse has a strong sustainability theme, incorporating recycled materials as part of the building’s structure, solar energy and rainwater, as well as a farm producing seasonal fruits and vegetables.
Ms Hansen said that Brae “sums up perfectly everything that the jury was looking for”.
“It’s luxury accommodation, but with a local sensibility and it has such an amazing restaurant experience attached. It’s the perfect package,” she said.
“Projects like this can have a huge impact, for example, by bringing tourism to a small country town.”
The artwork suspended above the lounge area illustrates the concept of “bubbles”. Photo: Tom Blanchford
On the other side of the state, Chandon Australia’s cellar door, in the Yarra Valley’s Coldstream, won the best retail design.
While the winery has been making sparkling wine at the site for more than 30 years, the refurbished hospitality centre, by Foolscap Studio, has a new lounge bar, restaurant, retail section and multiple tasting areas.
The space is the result of a mix of influences; Chandon’s French heritage can be seen through the leather and velvet banquettes, painting the scene of a Parisian bistro.
Meanwhile, Australian character is seen through the spotted gum timber floors and joinery, Dreamtime marble from Queensland and textiles by Indigenous artists.
Pop Inn has no permanent address and pops up in locations across Canberra. Photo: Damian Roos
The mobile bar is designed with function and minimalism in mind. Photo: Damian Roos
A kinetic sculpture is suspended in the air above the seating area, representing the lightness and movement of bubbles in sparkling wine.
For those in Canberra, Pop Inn, which secured the title of best installation design, is another place to enjoy a glass of wine, though in a very different setting.
Jumping on the pop-up retail bandwagon, the installation is Canberra’s first portable wine bar and sets up shop temporarily in various spots in the city.
Designed by Daryl Jackson Alastair Swayn Architects, the self-contained space is boxed within a 6.5-metre-long trailer with elements of timber and black minimalism, and has built-in glass racks and wine fridges.
Other award winners
Best bar design – Malt & Juniper (SA), by Sans-Arc Studio
Best restaurant design – Ishizuka (VIC), by Russell & George
Best café design – Bentwood Café (VIC), by Ritz and Ghougassian
Best identity design – Shobosho (SA), by Crafty Design
Eat Drink Design Awards Hall of Fame – Cookie (VIC), by Phillip Schemnitz Architect
