There Cafe

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  • 2021

  • Architectural
    Interior Design

Designed By:

  • Ewert Leaf
  • Ana Calic
  • Toby Ewert

Commissioned By:

There Cafe

Designed In:

Australia

Conceived as a shared meeting place, There Cafe in Melbourne 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 site’s industrial character while softly layering new interventions; an evolution of its historic identity.


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Image: JENAH PIWANSKI
Image: JENAH PIWANSKI
Image: JENAH PIWANSKI
Image: JENAH PIWANSKI
Image: JENAH PIWANSKI
Image: JENAH PIWANSKI
Image: JENAH PIWANSKI
  • CHALLENGE
  • SOLUTION
  • IMPACT
  • MORE

  • Starting with a vision to transform the iconic heritage building into a welcoming venue, the brief from the Gant's (Pot & Pan, Gather & Tailor) was threefold; to honour the qualities of the warehouse, foster a sense of community and contribute to the surrounding mixed-use development.

  • The site's grand, cathedral-like windows, raw steel columns and soaring 6-metre-high ceilings presented a rich architectural canvas, driving the 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 site's raw material profiles

  • 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 counterbalance. The rigid envelope is softened by sheer linen drapery sheathing the windows, accentuating the site's verticality and tempering the abundant natural light.

  • 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 sweep the perimeter, addressing an expansive dining area.