Venue #44

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Kings Cross Hotel Union Dining Prahran Hotel Eatons Hill Hotel Milan Furniture Fair UK Designer Lee Broom

& More

Icehouse, Melbourne Mediatec

The Glasshouse, Port Macquarie Jands in association with The P.A. People

Exchange Hotel, Townsville North Queensland Audio Visual

Sacred Heart School, Cabramatta Jands in association with Stage & Studio

Best Products, Best Solutions SEE US AT:

SEE US AT:

19th – 21st July Sydney Exhibition Centre, Stand B18

19th – 22nd July Sydney Exhibition Centre, Stand J34

For more info:

www.jands.com.au

Find Jands on Facebook

www.facebook.com/jandsptyltd

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MELBOURNE Tel: (03) 9535 7800

BRISBANE Tel: (08) 8340 2000

ADELAIDE Tel: (08) 8340 2000

PERTH Tel: (08) 9377 3400

JULY Nº 44

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Column

SPOT OF HOLIDAY

After a considerable hiatus, I recently returned to one of my first regular holiday spots.

I want to introduce you to ‘my lodge’. It’s at the snow. And I love the snow. Even on a torrid day with sleet hitting your cheeks at 30 knots and manmade snow rolling like sugar over ice, I’ll be out there with the nine other yahoos peering through the whiteout for ice patches, potholes and metre-wide orange ‘slow’ signs that have a knack of catching you unawares. But it’s not because of the snow that ‘my lodge’ is a favourite. After a five-year tour sampling the best and worst of the Victorian and New Zealand Alps, nothing beats returning home to the lodge I’d grown up in.

On count back I was barely a teen when I first set foot inside the renovated on-mountain post office. And for the decade following, each year my parents would save their pennies for the annual snow trip. Our other holiday spot was the family farm in South Australia, serving as a costsaving exercise that allowed us the wriggle room to fulfil our winter addiction.

There are probably ‘better’ lodges out there. You know the ones, five-star country club accommodation with an onsite day spa and monsoon showerheads. You only have to look as far as the Salter Architect and Hecker & Guthrie-designed Fjall apartments to find on-mountain, award-winning, Scandinavian-chic boutique accommodation. And it’s not to say that our haunt isn’t devoid of luxury, there’s an outdoor spa — perfectly positioned for snow rolling — a log fire, and a chef dishing up cooked breakfast, a warming lunch spread and a three-course dinner every night.

But it can’t be the luxury that makes me identify with this lodge in particular. After all, all the other places I’d stayed in over the last few years have had similar accoutrements.

Perhaps it was the familiar view over the gully from the lounge

window, sitting in the dining room knowing you’re going to make new friends for a couple of days, or rustling around in ski pants with everyone else suiting up in the drying room. But again: Not unique.

Then it dawned on me. It had nothing to do with luxurious ski holiday trappings, or the familiar sights and sounds of the Alps — every great memory I have of the place is in some way tied to the owner. She embodies holiday spirit, and knows how to host.

Here’s what I mean: each day she brought out antipasto and house-made dips an hour before dinner, served up coffees and pre-dinner drinks, baked scones when the weather turned dodgy, sat down with us at occasional meals to chat, skied with us, stoked the fire, spent the time getting to know everyone like an old friend, shared jokes, stories, and intently caught up on the year or years since we last stayed. And at the end of our time there, we knew everyone who had passed through the lodge, everyone who worked there, shared plenty of laughs, ate like kings, and even got some snowboarding in. What a holiday.

It’s a far cry from walking into a hotel or serviced apartment, handing over your credit card, choosing which paper you want delivered, picking up a key and shuffling off. In fact, there’s not really any hard and fast check-in at the lodge, you waltz in with your bags and make yourself at home.

It’s an almost extinct style of accommodation — the small, personalised on-mountain ski lodge, where the owner enjoys your stay as much as you do. And it’s sad that faceless, branded managed apartments are popping up in its place. Because unlike ‘my lodge’, when there’s no snow there’s no holiday.

Mark Davie is editor of venue magazine. Drop him a line at: mark@venuemag.com

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JULY Nº 44

Contents

“Four of the chairs were ‘borrowed’ one Friday night but were miraculously returned on SITTING PRETTY Seating Special the Monday morning... whoever borrowed them thought they were beautiful too and wanted to see how they looked at home!”

Neat Seats Take A Seat: Outdoor Seating Lounging Around Great Outdoors 2011 Milan Furniture Fair Lee Broom Interview

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Stephen Merchant, Senior Landscape Architect with the City of Sydney — pg34

Cover: Prahran Hotel, Melbourne Photo: Shannon McGrath

CONTENTS CONTACTS: Advertising Office: (02) 9986 1188 PO Box 6216, Frenchs Forest, NSW 2086 Editorial Office: (03) 5331 4949 PO Box 295, Ballarat, VIC 3353 Editor: Mark Davie (mark@venuemag.com) Publication Manager: Stewart Woodhill (stewart@venuemag.com) Editorial Director: Christopher Holder (chris@venuemag.com) Publisher: Philip Spencer (philip@venuemag.com) Art Direction & Design: Dominic Carey (dominic@alchemedia.com.au) Additional Design: Leigh Ericksen (leigh@alchemedia.com.au) Circulation Manager: Jen Temm (subscriptions@alchemedia.com.au) Accounts: Jen Temm (accounts@alchemedia.com.au)

alchemedia publishing pty ltd (ABN: 34 074 431 628) PO Box 6216, Frenchs Forest, NSW 2086 info@alchemedia.com.au All material in this magazine is copyright Š 2011 Alchemedia Publishing Pty Ltd. The title Venue is a registered Trademark. Apart from any fair dealing permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. The publishers believe all information supplied in this magazine to be correct at the time of publication. They are not in a position to make a guarantee to this effect and accept no liability in the event of any information proving inaccurate. After investigation and to the best of our knowledge and belief, prices, addresses and phone numbers were up to date at the time of publication. It is not possible for the publishers to ensure that advertisements appearing in this publication comply with the Trade Practices Act, 1974. The responsibility is on the person, company or advertising agency submitting or directing the advertisement for publication. The publishers cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions, although every endeavour has been made to ensure complete accuracy.

New Kit Lit Design Brief White Hart Grove & Vine Providore Ponyfish Island In The Drink Novotel Auckland Airport Sitting Pretty, Seating Special Florsheim Kings Cross Hotel Smooth Operator Eatons Hill Hotel Prahran Hotel Union Dining Commercial Edge You Wish, W Retreat & Spa Bali

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Park Regis Hotel

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A leading Australian-based international design group playing a significant role in shaping places and spaces in Australia, Asia & Europe.

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NEW

LM-8000 — PX-8000 —

RM-8000 —

PX-8000 _Unlimited expansion of output area in link with Main System _ RS-422 full duplex communication with remote stations _ 5-stage priority control for audio outputs _ Built-in digital record and playback module _ 2-band HF/LF equalization on each channel _ 8 sets of dry contacts for triggering emergency announcements _ May be connected to the LM-8000 remote stations (up to 8 units) _ 1 paging microphone input channel (with phantom power switch) for local paging RM-8000 Remote Microphone Station _ 8 zones with individual zone and ‘all zone’ selection switches _ Audio output level LED display _ 8 inputs by 8 outputs matrix _ Built-in pre-announce chime _ Monitor speaker level control _ Audio output level control _ The audio program input channels of PX-8000 are shown on the alphanumeric indicator _ LM-8000 provides for local inputs for audio program and MIC PAC-5000 —

PAC-5000 _ Integrated digital PA combination system (all in one system) _ Simultaneous 2 group different broadcasting _ Digital processing & digital amplifier _ CD copy (extend life-time of cd mechanism) Distributed in Australia by: Magna Systems and Engineering, Unit 2, 28 Smith Street, Chatswood, NSW 2067 Australia Tel: (02) 9417 1111 Fax: (02) 9417 2394

Furnitex is happening at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre for four days from Thursday 21st July to Sunday 24th July. The show is part of the State of Design festival, and features the Hotel & Hospitality section for specific hospitality furniture, Lightsource — showcasing new commercial lighting, Decoration + Design for the latest in interiors, and Vivid competition finalists.

The Design Made Trade show is also happening at the Royal Exhibition Building, making for a great time to get out and about to see what’s new in design.

More than just the latest products, Furnitex has also engaged a range of industry professionals to share insight into their work. The seminar series includes feted young designer Lee Broom from the UK (check out our interview with Lee later in the issue), award-wining wallpaper designer Erica Wakerley, and Abigail Ahern, also from the UK, will talk about creating feeling and emotion in an interior. It’s not solely a British invasion, a sizeable contingent of local talent will be headed up by Roger Nelson from NH Architecture offering his insights into retail design and the relationship between investment and outcomes.

There’s so much to Furnitex, that the best thing to do is jump online at www.furnitex.com.au, check out all the information there, and book your seminar tickets.

And best of all, the actual show is free to attend. Just make sure you register online.

Making ICT Work for You: Architects, Facility Managers and Consultants — you’re invited to this special half-day conference. venue in Partnership with InfoComm International is delighted to present ‘Communications Technology in the Built Environment’, a must-attend half-day conference.

The conference will focus on how to make information communication technology (ICT) work for you: • Making it Pay: Getting the best ROI from your communications technologies. • Green AV: Using ICT systems to improve your design’s energy rating. • Client Satisfaction: Using ICT to exceed client expectations. • Your Perspective: The entire ICT journey – from design, installation and operations – is tracked, all from the architect’s perspective. This seminar is pertinent to entertainment venues and hotels, public and commercial buildings, and is being staged on the site of Integrate, Australia’s largest professional audiovisual and ICT exhibition.

When: 30 Aug 2011, 10:30am – 1:30pm Where: Royal Hall of Industries, Moore Park, Sydney.

Tickets: www.integrate-expo.com (click on the ‘InfoComm Seminars’ tab)

VIDEO WATCH

Cost: $110 For more info contact Christopher Holder: chris@alchemedia.com.au or (03) 5331 4949

Party Rock Anthem, LMFAO

“Video Watch is way too downmarket. Video Watch is too lowbrow. Kid Rock, Britney, Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake, Snoop Dogg… it’s like Video Watch is intentionally combing the grubby underbelly of contemporary pop music; sifting the slurry, raking the muck, sucking the septic tank… Chris, your column makes me ill.”

That’s what venue’s Editor, Mark Davie, said to me just prior to deadline. Or least, that’s what he was trying to tell me, as he pointedly showed me some über-cool blog for pop culture-vultures. I dutifully had a snoop through the art-school alternatives. Every link took me into an ever more bewildering cul-de-sac of the monochrome, the monotonous and the downright mystifying. After seeing another seven minutes of my life drain away, trying to make sense of kids ironically shouting obscenities, or an arty-looking couple trudging through mud in their undies, I decided enough was enough. “Enough!”; my headphones ensuring my mumble came out as an inappropriately loud bellow, silencing the water-cooler banter.

Within a thrice I was on the iTunes Store downloading the Most Viewed music video. I didn’t

so much as preview it; I happily authorised $5 to seep imperceptibly from my Visa card, safe in the knowledge that something would actually happen in this particular clip.

Serendipitously, I had stumbled upon a sterling cut from an exciting new duo called LMFAO. The track was suitably called Party Rock Anthem. Cracking! Not only was I quickly encountering the considerable talents of the LMFAO boys — Red Foo and Sky Blu, by name — I soon had the pleasure of hearing from sparkly co-conspirator, Lauren Bennett, and a chappy who didn’t appear to do very much, called GoonRock. Magic!

Sure enough, Party Rock Anthem doesn’t require a time lapse camera to observe any discernible signs of life — stuff happens. Mainly it’s ‘shuffling’ but that’s okay, there are enough oddball characters to keep one intrigued. There’s the chap with a cardboard box on his head, the muscly Hispanic lass dressed as an Adult Shop nurse, the overweight gentlemen sporting a TMNT half shell, the chap with the ‘Hi Mom’ t-shirt and SS Minnow cap, someone’s waving a plush zebra toy on a stick — which I thought took some imagination — and the list of whacky, crazy,

kooky misfits just goes on and on.

look away now. Party Rock Anthem is like a

Those fishing in the trendier eddies of the pop culture river will be dismayed to see little evidence of the avant garde or the visual tension of a flat cap-wearing, would-be auteur plying their trade. In other words, if

cheeseburger served in a brown paper bag, by a spotty teenager, with their arm hanging out the drive thru window… you don’t even have to change down into second gear to pick it up. Convenient and entirely disposable? You betcha. — CH.

you like your pop culture to come with complimentary canapés and a boutique French champagne sponsorship then

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Directional bracketing options

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Mahjong Black is the darker cousin of Max Tsang’s Mahjong in St Kilda. The Little Collins Street Chinese restaurant in Melbourne was designed by Petro Giordano of CBG, and includes some interesting uses of fibre optic lighting and wave ceiling lights against a deep black background.

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The ALH Group is almost ready to unwrap the redeveloped New Brighton Hotel in Manly. ALH State Manager Steve Howarth said, “The New Brighton has always formed a solid cornerstone to our business here in NSW and also somewhat of a challenge. For a property of its age, to cope with the business demands continually involved costly and awkward maintenance and repairs. Riding out the arduous planning approval process with Council was also costly and I believe the business definitely suffered as a result of these delays.”

But according to Howarth the challenges will be well worth it: “The property will boast state of the art design, fittings, audio visual and sound, not to mention fantastic outdoor areas to maximise the prime location that the New Brighton commandeers on The Corso.”

The herd has split, and Pony Dining has opened a second location at Neutral Bay, Sydney’s latest dining hot spot. Matt Darwon, whose portfolio includes Toko and Jimmy Liks, designed the new Pony. It features 5km of timber slats that wave across the ceiling. www.ponydining.com.au

Guillame Brahimi has relocated Bistro Guillame within Crown. A quick peek through the window reveals those lovely upside-down-chef-hats pendants have been relocated with it, and the whole thing is looking very Parisien and fresh.

Cameron Ling is really setting himself up for a post-AFL career. And right when his form is getting back on track. The Geelong football team captain has endeared himself to the local faithful, and is using his clout wisely. The Pier in Geelong is his second venue, and occupies a large space left by the departed Smorgy’s buffet. There’s nothing tacky here though, Lingy and Geyer architects have turned The Pier into what it should always have been — a sophisticated eating and drinking spot that takes in the water. Simple stuff, read more about it next issue.

Chris Lucas, of Black Pearl, has opened Chin Chin in Melbourne’s Flinders Lane dining precinct. With a ‘no reservation’ policy, affordable Thai food, and a design infused with elements of South East Asian worker’s eating houses, this is a fair departure from his previous fine dining forays.

Jimmy Liks ex-chef Andrew Gimber is dishing up DIY pork roll ups, Asian soups and curries, and Projects of Imagination have designed the open plan eating space.

On Wednesday 3rd of August and Thursday 4th of August, Federation Square will host its annual Wine Awards Showcase. In its eighth year, the showcase will bring together wine lovers and winemakers to sample, compare and discuss Victorian wines. Added to the awards this year is the inaugural Sustainability Award, recognising excellence in environmental practice.

Staging Rentals has expanded its construction capabilities in both Melbourne and Sydney. Each location now has a CNC machine to precisely cut intricate shapes out of timber, laminate, Perspex and foam.

It gives event and production designers license to dream up whatever cockamamie scheme they desire knowing Staging Rentals can fulfil their desire without having to ship it in. Handy!

Melbourne: (03) 9681 8462 or damien.collins@stagingrentals.com.au Sydney: (02) 9519 6300 or michael.stokes@stagingrentals.com.au

www.chinchinrestaurant.com.au

Restaurateur Wanted — A new residential development, Luna, designed by architects Ellenberg Fraser, will feature 72 apartments in St Kilda. The Buxton Group are currently on the lookout for a savvy restaurateur or entrepreneur chef to take over 230sqm of indoor/outdoor space equivalent to a 120-seat restaurant. It will be positioned at the ‘nose’ of the building to give the new business pride of place.

The newly renovated Richmond Club Hotel is now open on Swan Street. After the first floor was fire damaged, Sand Hill Road decided to go the full hog and expand the pub from two to a whopping four levels. Other big news is the appointment of Scott Elvery as the Group Chief Operating Officer, Scott is currently GM at Richmond Club Hotel. With four renovations happening this calendar year, and two more to come, at which point the group will have doubled its staff pool and total sales, Elvery’s promotion is just in time.

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The future of ceiling supports

Visit us at Integrate 2011 to find out more.

PHONE 1800 636 026 www.canohm.com.au professional@canohm.com.au

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kit

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GrandVJ Fades In

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ArKaos has released the 1.5 version of GrandVJ, a real-time video mixer software package allowing VJs to compose up to eight layers of video during live audiovisual performances, for club nights, dance parties and other on-the-fly visual spectaculars. GrandVJ 1.5 has two major new features: Transitions and ArKaos Connect VST. Thirty-seven transitions, such as fades and swipes are available over variable fade times, all controlled by MIDI. ULA Group: 1300 852 476 or www.ula.com.au

Yamaha VS The World

EAW Raise Low-Cost Bar

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Yamaha Commercial Audio Systems new VS Series of surfacemount speakers are ideal for public address, background music, retail store, club, restaurant, meeting room or house of worship. The VS Series speakers deliver high quality sound with exceptional clarity in both indoor and outdoor settings. There are two models are offered in the VS Series, and with water-resistant enclosures and transducers, they meet industry standard IEC60529 IPX3 rating requirements.

Internally mounted transformers enable the speakers to operate in 70V or 100V distributed sound systems.

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EAW’s VF family of products represents a new approach to the needs of professional audio, combining a hybrid of portable and install features in one package. Extremely versatile, these new units offer great sound quality and power for value, and the boxes feature a clean, consistent design with an elegant yet robust style. Great for auditoriums, theatres, nightclubs and DJ setups, bars, music performances, etc.

Production Audio: (03) 9264 8000 or info@productionaudio.com.au

Yamaha: (03) 9693 5272 or jason_allen@gmx.yamaha.com

Sanyo 7-in-1

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Crestron’s Easy Building Control

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Full HD projector developed for the pro market that uses Sanyo’s QuaDrive engine to achieve a ‘best-in class’ brightness of 7000 lumens with just a single lamp. The PLC-HP7000L produces 1920 x 1080 resolution and full 10-bit video processing, with exceptional colour reproduction in a portable package designed to provide operators with high reliability and low operational cost. The PLC HF7000L will launch in November. Price: $15,999 RRP.

Crestron’s new generation MC3, is the first 3-Series control system powered by the Core 3 OS. Developed and engineered like an IT platform, rather than an AV system, the 3-Series platform is designed to provide a foundation for powerful integrated building technology. On a single 3-Series platform, fully-integrated control of entertainment, AV and environmental systems in commercial buildings, homes, schools, hotels and casinos, and multi-campus environments is “faster, simpler, and more efficient than previously possible or imagined”.

Sanyo Oceania: (02) 9815 5822 or www.sanyo.com.au

Crestron: (02) 9737 8203 or www.crestron.com.au

RCF Outdoor Power

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So you have a large outdoor entertainment area, with big screens and hundreds of punters… but baby loudspeakers and piddly sound? Fret not, it’s the RCF P5228-L to the rescue. The new full-range, two-way speaker sports an IP55 rating, allowing it to operate outdoors, and with a 500W RMS rating this high-output device will happily hold court in medium to large spaces.

Group Technologies: (03) 9354 9133 or sales@grouptechnologies.com.au

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Robe Covers Charity Ball

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Lighting designer Dave Jackson of Phaseshift Productions specified over 40 Robe moving lights, including 24 new Robin 600 LEDWash lights for the annual Bruce Lynton BMW Charity Ball at the RACV Royal Pines Resort. The moving fixtures lit the main stage for the gala dinner, giving plenty of options for the night’s entertainment.

Bolstering the festive atmosphere were six Anolis ArcPad Xtremes positioned on the mezzanine above the main foyer, lighting up an area of about 600sqm in coloured light. Over $1.2m was raised on the night for charity, which will light up a lot of lives.

Net On Line

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The LED Net line suspension light was developed by Michele de Lucchi and Alberto Nason with Artemide.

The unique form is constructed using a satin finished aluminium plate onto which a printed circuit board housing LEDs is fitted. Methacrylate lens holders diffuse and focus light downwards to create a soft and dimmable lighting effect. Price from $2550.

Artemide: 1300 135 709 or info@artemide.com.au

ULA: 1300 852 476 or www.ula.com.au

VariLite Variety

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Last issue, we put the spotlight on one of Philips’ new VariLite fixtures, the VL400 spot luminaire. But there are four more where that came from. The VL440 exchanges one of the VL400’s fixed colour wheels for full CYM mixing and is fitted with a graduated coated glass dimmer wheel for smooth dimming; the VL770 steps up the light output to 15,100 lumens; the VL880 delivers a massive 19,000 lumens; and the VLX3 wash offers stunning colours and intensity, multi-year source life and high reliability.

Jands: (02) 9582 0909 or info@jands.com.au

Philips Selecon

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Philips has introduced LEDs to its Wing wall washer range. The new version delivers a homogenous, glarefree beam, which will evenly light walls of 3m or more without the harmful effect of UV or infrared radiation.

It’s available in two modules, Warm White and a tuneable RGB white, which can have the colour temperature and intensity tuned to suit requirements.

Philips: 0419 133 342 or peter.mckenzie@philips.com

Control Contractor 60 Series

Control Contractor 50 Series

NEW Control 62P Ultra-Compact Mid-High Satellite Pendant Speaker

NEW Control 50S/T Subwoofer & 52 Satellite Speake Surface-Mount Subwoofer-Satellite Loudspeaker System

Control Contractor 40 Series

COMPLETE COVERAGE

for your cafe or bar.

High Performance Meets High Refinement The professionals choice for over half a century No matter where you go in this world, you’ll find JBL Installed Sound Speaker Systems at many of the most notable venues. With that kind of global perspective, JBL has come to respect the one indisputable truth of business: every customer is unique. A speaker system that is perfectly right for one job might be perfectly wrong for another. That’s why JBL Installed Sound products offer a range of options without equal. From the extraordinary value of the Control Contractor

Distributed by

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SEE US AT:

19th – 22nd July Sydney Exhibition Centre, Stand J34

Series to the ultimate precision of the JBL Precision Directivity Series, there’s a JBL Installed Sound product with a solid business solution based on equally solid business savvy. For more than 60 years, JBL has been the professional speaker of choice wherever sound matters. We’d like to believe it should be your choice, too.

DESIGN BRIEF Best chair in the house: The politics of seating Story: Russell Lee

Every holiday break from school meant spending time at my grandparent’s house. ‘Doing time’ might have been a better description. My grandmother was like a warden keeping a close eye on all of us. After several breakout attempts I was confined to solitary in the innermost part of the house. The small dark rooms were crowded with furniture and piles of knick-knacks looming overhead — it was like walking through a gorge in the Blue Mountains.

Seeing as I couldn’t go outside I decided to explore every crevice and corner. It didn’t take long to discover that there was nothing of any interest or value other than a handsome Queensland Maple dining set. To my great disappointment I would later learn that Queensland Maple was the pine equivalent for the post war era. Pushing aside the dressmaking dolly, patterns and other paraphernalia from the table, I sat back in the large carver chair at the head of the table. Its sumptuous padded cushion and curved arms made it stand out from the others. I felt elevated — the head of the household.

This patriarchal approach to seating has dominated our thinking and approach for many generations. It’s symbolised in every boardroom from New York to New Delhi, where the chairman sits at the head of a long table with the lesser lights trailing off to each side. This arrangement is more about stare-down intimidation than respect.

But are these traditional attitudes still relevant today?

When I walk into a meeting room to give a digital presentation with a tiny TV screen at one end of the room and the client at the far end, I know I am in for a tough day.

SPARE SOME CHANGE? The chair itself has not really evolved. Apart from the fact that our generation is physically larger than previous generations, the parameters are still the same. Not surprisingly, the classic bent tubular steel creations by Marcel Breuer are still in demand. Just check the inventory for the ‘looka-likes’ at any discount furniture store.

These chairs might date back to the Bauhaus, but their beautiful simplicity and modernist approach still make them a delight to behold. Whether occupied or vacant, in a room they help make a space. To top it off, there is no sacrifice for aesthetics as they are extremely comfortable.

What has changed is our attitude to our physical position.

With the advent of modern office planning many staff don’t even have their own desk, instead they hot desk.

Rather than causing morale problems, we are finding that people are more productive this way. Flexibility is key and people look for the best platform to support their role.

Technology has also had a significant impact. No longer

“where is the best seat in the house?” do all the participants in a meeting need to be in the same room or city. Instead they sit in front of a camera, looking at a screen. The virtual meeting room is more like a set from a Michael Parkinson interview and the best position is centre screen.

In the new Melbourne Convention Centre, the operations are akin to a Swiss Army knife. One minute there is a flat floor, then, with the press of a button, it is transformed — floor panels fold away, motorised jacks whir into motion and seats magically swing into position.

VALUE SEATING Of course, there is great value in some seats. In our sports and entertainment centres, seats and where they are is a key to the success of the event for the patron and the organiser. However it is not ‘one size fits all’.

Take cricket and AFL, both require an oval field of play and are played in different seasons. They would appear to be natural co-habitants for a venue. Yet for cricket a seat in line with the wicket is extremely valuable, whereas except for the cheer squad, it has no value in AFL, as it falls behind the goal posts.

Or take a multi-purpose venue like Acer Arena in Sydney.

In concert mode, the best seats aren’t the expensive upholstered theatre seats in the corporate suites half way up the stands. Instead they are the stackable plastic and steel chairs dead in front of the stage.

So for all our projects one major question is always, “where is the best seat in the house?”.

Russell Lee, Director at Cox Richardson Architects and Planners, the Sydney branch of Cox Architecture Pty Ltd and draws on his knowledge and expertise as an international expert on leisure and sport design in writing our column on Venue Seating. He has been responsible for many innovative sports and resort facilities in the UAE, Qatar, Taiwan, China, Iran, New Zealand and Australia including Sydney Cricket Ground’s Victor Trumper Stand, Rooty Hill Gymnasium and Aquatic Centre, plus assisting the FFA’s bid for the FIFA 2018-2022 World Cup.

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COCKNEY TALES The White Hart: Grosvenor Street, Neutral Bay NSW (02) 8021 2115 or www.white-hart.com.au Story: Joanna Lowry

On the hunt for a good name, Grant Collins decided to turn to his English roots, and stumbled across the archaic name for hunting’s holy grail — white hart. So revered was the lucky white mature stag, that even King Richard II inscribed his livery with the animal as his personal emblem. It became so popular that in the 1700s ‘White Hart’ became the default name for alehouses across the country. Slightly less popular nowadays, Collins thought it prime for revival. “We decided on the name ‘White Hart’ because of its history,” says Collins. “I’m from Cornwall in the UK. A lot of the conceptualisation actually came from where I was born.”

Having mixed drinks at Water Bar in the W Hotel and Zeta Bar in the Hilton, Collins’ Neutral Bay haunt combines his flair for colourful concoctions with his British heritage. “We wanted to be a cocktail bar but we didn’t want to be too unapproachable,” he says. “There’s nothing more warm and welcoming than a good old fashioned English pub.”

The fusion of cocktail-classy and cockney owes a lot to Paul Kelly’s design. “The colour scheme is quite contradictory,” Kelly said of the blue velvet ottomans, red carpet and the pastel yellow booths in the dining area. “The bright colours are very contemporary and the muted colours are quite traditional. The idea was to combine the old and new to make something cosy, but edgy.” The space

is intimate — “a bit like an underground dungeon parlour,” Kelly muses — with walls covered in faux stone and wood panelling. The walls are then adorned with an assortment of vintage knickknacks. As well as the obligatory taxidermy stag, there’s a telephone from the 1800s, old cricket bats, flying ducks and a battered dartboard — all sourced from the mother country, of course.

Leather-bound menus and wooden flagons add to the British theme. The kitchen, under the direction of Danny Russo, reinterprets British classics and the bar makes its own cider and mead (a traditional English beverage made from fermented honey, if you haven’t had the pleasure).

Then there are Collins’ famed cocktails — the latest being a deconstructed White Russian. “We’ve taken rice bubbles and soaked them in Kahlua and dehydrated them,” Collins explained. “Then there’s vodka milk, which is served in an antique teacup. The rice bubbles are served in an antique bowl. Obviously you’ve got a spoon to eat it with. It’s a cereal cocktail.”

It appears the passing centuries haven’t diminished the luck of The White Hart with clientele hailing from both sides of the bridge. “I was surprised at first, but we get a lot of people coming in from the city and places like Bondi and Surry Hills,” Collins said.

CONTACTS

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Paul Kelly Design: (02) 9660 8299 or www.paulkellydesign.com.au Bar Solutions: (02) 9690 0632 or www.barsolutions.com.au Hughes Commercial Furniture (Upholstered Chairs & Sofas): 1800 242 479 or www.hughescf.com.au Café Culture (Ikeda High Table): (02) 9699 8577 or www.cafeculture.com.au Supertuft (Carpet): (03) 9427 8600 or www.supertuft.com.au 1

Diemme Creative Solutions (Stone Wall Finish): (02) 9550 0811 or www.diemme.com.au

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Caesarstone (Bartop): 1300 279 927 or www.caesarstone.com.au

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Academy Tiles (Kitchen Walls & Bar Front): (02) 9436 3566 or www.academytiles.com.au

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Inlite (Lighting): (02) 9699 3900 or www.inlite.com.au 4

ISM Lighting (Lighting): 1300 888 646 or www.ismobjects.com.au

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22

CORKER Grove & Vine Providore: 3/9 Yarra Lane, South Yarra VIC

For all those sub-25 year olds reading this article, I have a bombshell for you: wine routinely used to be bottled with cork. Yeah, I know, crazy. In a few short years cork has been erased from the mass-production map. Grove and Vine Providore loves the idea of cork, it represents everything it aspires to: natural, rootsy, ageless… and, now, just a little bit exotic.

CONTACTS

The new food/wine store has popped up like a porcini mushroom in the emerging foodie paradise that is Yarra Lane [see Issue 42 for more] and visiting Grove & Vine is akin to falling over a hidden epicurean gem in a Mediterranean back street.

Coco-Flip Design Studio: 0412 292 990 or www.cocoflip.com.au Pro Cork: 1300 886 393 or www.procork.com VN projects (Custom Furniture, Fixtures & Fittings): (03) 9387 3000 or info@vnprojects.com.au The Floor Shop (Cork Floor): (03) 9569 2222 or www.thefloorshop.com.au Lecky’s Electrical (Lighting Supplier): (03) 9354 1077 or www.leckys.com.au 1

Design To Print (Wall Image Installation): (03) 9587 9181 or sales@designtoprint.com.au

Under the watchful gaze of talented designer Kate Stokes of Coco-Flip Design Studio and architect Haslett Grounds, Grove & Vine Providore’s design pulls together a combination of textiles, including cork and oriented strand board (OSB) and a 2000 hanging cork display all against the backdrop of a life-size 1950s print of a woman crushing grapes in a wine barrel. The expanse of OSB (oriented strand board) used for the custom designed furniture was chosen for its unique character and warmth.

The furniture was designed to ‘hero’ each product and allow for storage of wine boxes and other produce amongst the displays.

Oh, not enough cork for you? Fret not, as there’s a sea of 8000 corks pressed up against the glass front to form a display for product, setting the theme at the point of entry. And enter they will: whether it’s to sample a regional varietal from Bannockburn or Gembrook Hill or to source the un-source-able such as Baldjis’ fresh figs in syrup from Greece or Lolin’s Bay of Biscay Yellowfin tuna in olive oil, Grove & Vine Providore is a foodlovers’ honeypot. Well worth a sticky-beak.

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Washed up on the pylon landing beneath the Yarra pedestrian bridge, Ponyfish Island draws a crowd. “There’s nothing to see here!” scream the tangle of netting, beer keg stools and rewired gas lanterns. Indeed, there’s not much to Ponyfish Island, except for those with a nose for adventure.

During the day, camping beneath the boardwalk, watching as bustling shadows break the sunlight that filters through the cracks, feels liberating. It’s the same sense of withdrawn voyeurism you get from parking yourself in a laneway, or hole-in-the-wall — lazily yet strategically removed from the hussle.

Ponyfish is the brainchild of laneway sage Jerome Borazio, and agency mates Andrew MacKinnon and Grant Smilie. Their likenesses, in caricature seafarer garb, are pasted up on the servery walls along with a collection of mythical imagery repurposed as Ponyfish artwork.

Hanging plants are fed a diet from ketchup and mustard bottles — the survivors, manager Reggie Lysaught says, of a rather more ambitious garden setup (apparently succulents don’t fare too well on the open water).

Ponyfish is cold, as you’d expect from a Melbourne winter on the water. Which makes the previous tenant’s proposition of an ice cream outlet seem bonkers. The menu would now warm the cockles of any sailor — mulled wine, a rotating cast of soups, beef goulash, specialty pies, and hot Niccolo coffee. As for the ice cream, “well,” says Lysaught, “put anything out the back and it will freeze.”

Originally, the licensed café — which opens from early in the morning till 1am every night — was only intended to be a six-month operation over summer. But it’s proved so popular with the natives that the lease has been extended indefinitely. Trust captain Jerome to navigate Melbourne and find the only suitable island for habitation.

PONYFISH ISLAND Pylon landing under Yarra Pedestrian Bridge VIC www.ponyfish.com.au

IN THE DRINK Use flair, but use it wisely, or your drink might go down in a blaze of fire.

Jason Williams is Group Cocktail Manager of Keystone Hospitality and oversees The Loft in Sydney

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Column

A big part of a being a professional bartender is theatre and showmanship. Whether pulling pots at Bojangles in Alice Springs or stirring martinis at The Loft in Sydney, a good bartender will have presence and will always look to entertain guests as they watch their drink being prepared. In fact, making drinks is just one part of what a good bartender is all about.

Any bartender worth their volcanic pink sea salt should consider their bar a stage and build a rapport with their audience accordingly — even if only for a fleeting moment. In a pub this could be a classic joke with a regular, in a cocktail bar it might amount to sabring a bottle of champagne and in a club it might be some bar tricks. For me the best theatre is simple: seeing a busy cocktail bartender do their thing in a smooth efficient way all the while throwing banter across the bar and being able to host multiple groups. But there’s so much to admire about bartenders that take it even further: jokes, poems, throwing cocktails, vaporising cocktails, lighting up cocktails and even impersonating cocktails (think about it).

But when it comes to the absolute embodiment of theatre and showmanship behind the bar, flair bartending is where it’s at.

And everyone knows what I mean when I say flair bartending; whether in the industry or not. Furthermore, people not in hospitality often only know flair bartending as bartending. Often when I tell people what I do they promptly ask if I ‘spin the bottles around?’ That’s because flair bartending is the epitome of confidence and showmanship behind the bar and that’s what these people have remembered. The skill, style and athleticism that good flair bartenders demonstrate is crazy — they are definitely not just spinning some bottles around. Flairers develop moves, pours and whole routines. To describe a kick-ass flairer as a cross between a juggler and bartender might seem logical but it would be an understatement.

These guys put on a show. Or in the case of working flair, add pizzazz to seemingly normal bar techniques. It’s utter showing off, and undeniable bar theatre.

THIS TIME, WITH FLAIR Unfortunately, there are times where it gets taken too far. The reason for the bartender’s existence — to prepare a drink — is often forgotten altogether, or the emphasis on the drink dimin-

ished. This is why in some circles flair bartending has a bad rap.

While the flair guys see themselves as cowboys, other parts of the bar industry sees them as monkeys, as a result of the importance they place on the ‘show’ as opposed to the drink. Although when both schools of thought are combined — creating theatre while producing a cracking drink — a great bar experience can be created.

Just like most bartenders, I dabbled in flair. I went through a phase when I was younger where I would go down to the park with a couple of empty bottles and practice. I used to have perpetually bruised knuckles and would smash bottles all over the house because I couldn’t resist throwing around whatever happened to be in my hand. Though it’s not something I pursued, I guess I just wasn’t into it. Flair bartenders love flair bartending. They hang out together and wear t-shirts emblazoned with slogans like, ‘Flair 4 Life’. They also have international tours and championships and massive cash prizes, even in Australia.

While that sounded appealing and while I got into it a little bit and even now pride myself on my empty beer bottle double backflip to stall, it’s not what I’m inspired by. I got more into the knowledge and mixology side of bartending. When guests ask me now for some flair, while I can bust out some awkward flips, I’d much prefer to rely on my sweet manhattans and jokes about whatever suburb you come from.

While bartenders either like flair or lump it, one thing is undeniable; the effect it can have on the theatre of bartending.

EXPERIMENTAL THEATRE My favourite piece of flair and almost definitely the best example of flair combined with highend mixology comes not from a Club Med ’86 cocktail manual but rather the world’s first ever bar book, (supposedly) created by the world’s first celebrity bartender. Dating all the way back to 1862!

The legend of the Blue Blazer cocktail incorporates all of my above ramblings — flair, fire, adding theatre to the value of a bar experience, and most of all, a tasty cocktail.

During the early to mid 1800s in the US of A, the birthplace of the cocktail, Jerry ‘The Professor’ Thomas plied his trade as a quasi-celebrity barkeep; his name known to discerning im-

bibers in all the top saloons and hotels. He is considered the granddaddy of bartending as we know it. He was described as the ultimate travelling showman, just with a bar in front of him.

One writer anointed him ‘Jupiter Olympus of the bar’, and another ‘the most distinguished, if not the chief, of the American bartenders’. Thomas was what everyone now knows about bartenders, a brash, confident entertainer whose showmanship and keen ear for publicity was only matched by his intellect and knowledge of all things bar, saloon and most definitely mixed drinks. And his nickname was owed to his experiments behind the bar. Here we have not just the world’s first great bartender but also perhaps one of the world’s first flair bartenders.

proceeded to prepare a mix of boiling water and Scotch whisky (picking up from his instructions) “light it on fire and hurl the blazing mixture back and forth between two silver mugs... with a rapidity and dexterity well nigh unbelievable.” Eventually recovering after downing said libation with a few deep breaths the miner supposedly said, “Yes sir, right down my gizzard”. Now that’s theatre behind the bar, and what flair is really all about.

While many a dodgy bartender and in particular the flair guys love to set stuff on fire — juggle with fire, anything with fire — they never seem to make a drink worth drinking. But here we have the original gangster of bartending demonstrating how to throw stuff around — on fire — while making a real drink.

WHAT THE BLAZES? In 1862 Thomas had published his seminal work, How to Mix Drinks otherwise known as The Bon Vivant’s Companion. This is officially the world’s first ever bartender guide. A book that extended beyond standard drinks recipes to include separate recipes for all of the constituent ingredients — everything from syrups to bitters, tinctures, seasonal fruit, and even liqueurs! This was a time where all ice was hand chipped and bottled juice didn’t exist.

Even though this was the first ever bartender guide — a substantial book published at a time when cocktails were already popular — Jerry Thomas only included seven cocktails. One of those cocktails would be considered his greatest legacy — the Blue Blazer.

Now while there has since been a little conjecture about how and when he created this drink, I am not going to let that get in the way of a good story, especially as it involves flair. And fire!

One day, while Thomas was tending bar at the El Dorado Saloon in California, a gold miner covered in gold dust storms into the bar and orders, “Fix me up some hell-fire that’ll shake me right down to my gizzards”. Classy dude. Supposedly Thomas got him a bottle of whisky for his gold and told him to come back in an hour for the main event. When he returned The Professor

FINISHING WITH FLAIR I love the Blue Blazer cocktail for these reasons. It has a story, it has some historical credibility, it has some theatre but also it incorporates what is great about about a bar experience. Whether it’s throwing bottles around your head at 5am to impress candy kids at the club or throwing flaming Scotch between mugs for an old gold miner, the principles are the same. Inject a bit of theatre and showmanship, even some flair.

The Blue Blazer is also a quintessential winter cocktail. Not just the fact that it is served warm but also because of the flavours you can add. Honey, baking spices such as cinnamon, all kinds of aromatic bitters, citrus peels, and any number of warming earthy liqueurs will improve this drink. Its base of Scotch and water are a good platform to work from although substituting the Scotch for something like rum or bourbon works well too.

For example, 1806 in Melbourne does a great Black Blazer using high proof rum and chocolate liqueur.

Have a play. Or better yet, go see your friendly (or surly) bartender and just ask for a Blazer. Don’t just check out what flavours they recommend, but also what kind of ‘show’ they put on.

For this drink, the Blue Blazer, is easily the showiest, flairiest drink of them all.

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Novotel's NEXT rooms are so close to the airport you can watch your plane leave without you.

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It’s unclear whether New Zealand thought Auckland was forgettable or they simply wanted to make sure travellers got a good grasp on Auckland’s rich cultural heritage before heading back overseas. Either way, there’s no mistaking the New Zealand-ness at the newly designed and built Novotel hotel at the Auckland Airport.

Here’s a quick introduction for those missing the design cues infused by architecture firm Warren and Mahoney. The concrete beams holding up the building resemble ‘waka’ (Maori for canoe), and a pohutukawa tree (New Zealand Christmas tree) is planted at the entrance commemorating the legend of Maori arrival into Manukau Harbour. It’s only the surface of what is a uniquely New Zealand gateway.

The 263-bed, $65m hotel is a mere 50m from the airport, which hosts 13 million travellers every year, with that figure expected to rise to 24 million by 2025. The hotel is more than just a stay-over cultural centre, with 12 meeting rooms, all day dining facilities, gyms, and double glazed windows to cut out noise pollution. Each room showcases Novotel’s NEXT concept rooms, which amounts to an open plan design with transparent glass partitions that can be switched to opaque, swivelling reading lights, a flexible upholstered headboard which curves to contours of the back, and versatile furniture.

LAY OVER Hotel Novotel Auckland Airport: Auckland International Airport (+64) 9257 7200 or ww.novotel.com

celebrating eleven years QUALITY FURNITURE FOR COMMERCIAL & HOSPITALITY VENUES cafeculture.com.au

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1/1-25 Adelaide Street Surry Hills NSW 2010 T +61 2 9699 8577

1 Malt Street Fortitude Valley QLD 4006 T +61 7 3254 3700

SITTING PRETTY Sit down, relax, and enjoy the ride through venue’s seating special. We look at loose seating in public spaces (without feeling the pinch), hot stuff straight out of Milan, a selection of the best chairs, lounges and outdoor furniture, and UK designer Lee Broom fills us in on what’s been happening in UK hospitality design as well as shedding some insight into the process behind creating his fabulous furniture.

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neat seats:

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ARAGOSTA

SAIL STACKING CHAIR

GRACE CHAIR

Manufacturer: Billiani

Designer: Emmanuel Gallina.

Materials: Solid European beech

Designers: Piergiorgio & Michele Cazzaniga for Andreu World

Finishes: Natural, stained or painted

Indoors or outdoors

The streamlined chair is also stackable

Materials: Polypropylene and fibreglass

Upholstered in various colours and fabric options

CafĂŠ Culture: (02) 9699 8577 or www.cafeculture.com.au

Appeared at Milan Fair 2011

Price: from $1375

Sail offers maximum lightness and comfort in a range of attractive and contemporary colours. Technology is pushed to the extreme to obtain a very light but very strong chair.

Poliform: (02) 9690 0777 or www.poliform.com.au

Ke-Zu: (02) 9669 1788 or www.kezu.com.au Â

With or without arms

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DOLL

SUNDAY

MASTERS CHAIR

Designer: Emilio Nanni for Billiani Italy

Designers: Nick Graham & Rod Carlson

Designer: Philippe Starck with Eugeni Quitllet for Kartell

Materials: Frame available in solid beech or metal, with or without metal arms. Seat and back available in beech — stained or lacquered. Also available with upholstered seat, or seat and back.

Materials: Environmentally-sustainable American Oak frame, eco-plywood and steel

Indoor and outdoor

Made in Australia

Colours: White, Black, Grey, Mustard, Rusty Red, Sage Green.

The upholstered chair is made to order in selected fabric with plain seam stitching detail. Made using traditional steel and timber manufacturing techniques and waterbased glues.

A tribute to three contemporary design icons: the Series 7 by Arne Jacobsen, the Tulip Armchair by Eero Saarinen and the Eiffel Chair by Charles Eames.

Trade price: Range from $295-$460+GST Insitu: (03) 9428 9622 or www.insitufurniture.com.auÂ

Jardan: (03) 9548 8866 or www.jardan.com.au

Materials: Dyed modified polypropylene

Suitable for heavy contract use, the Masters chair is light, practical and stackable, and available in a selection of colours.

Price: $300 Space Furniture: (02) 8339 7588 or www.spacefurniture.com.au

TAKE W A SEAT The City of Sydney gets a little loose with its outdoor seating.

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Story: Heather Barton

hen they say, “take a seat” at Sydney’s new sunken garden, they don’t mean literally.

The garden, in the Walter Reid Reserve in the old Paddington Reservoir in inner-city Oxford Street, has taken a radical approach to its furniture: In an act of trust — some might say naivete — the City of Sydney decided to take architect Tonkin Zulaikha Greer’s advice and use loose rather than fixed seating in the garden. That trust has been returned it seems, as none of the seating has been stolen.

Tim Greer, Design Director in charge of the project for Tonkin Zulaikha Greer, said, “The City of Sydney really has to take credit for being open-minded enough to consider loose furniture in a public space. The reason we suggested it is because we conceived the space as an intimate set of rooms. Chairs belong in a room.

Benches belong in a park.”

According to Greer, the advantage of using loose seating is that people can move them according to where the sun or shade is and can arrange them in more flexible formations to suite the type of social interaction they want. He said, “We find the seating is always in different locations whenever we return. It leaves a memory or trace of what has happened in the space during the day. On one day a week there is always a circle of about 10 or 12 chairs left in the afternoon. It’s a parents’ group that come with their babies. And, although I’ve not actually seen them there, I’ve seen the memory of them written in those circle formations.”

LOCK DOWN Greer pointed out that because the sunken garden design was conceived as a series of rooms (accessed by two staircases) and because the garden is locked at sunset and reopened at sunrise, the loose furniture is secure in a way it might not be in an open park.

Although Stephen Merchant, Senior Landscape Architect with the City of Sydney who worked on the project said, “We did find that four of the chairs were ‘borrowed’ one Friday night but were miraculously returned on the Monday morning. The chairs are aesthetically quite beautiful and we’ve had a number of enquiries about them. Clearly whoever borrowed them thought they were beautiful too and wanted to see how they’d look at home!”

The success at Paddington Reservoir lead the Council to trial temporary seating and deck chairs in the warmer months at Sydney Square, between Town Hall and St Andrew’s Cathedral in the City.

The seating was managed and packed away at night but people were drawn to the site because the Square acts as a sun trap.

Merchant said, “The trial was a great success. This reflects how loose furniture is used in public spaces in Europe. Typically they are managed, brought out and packed away. Studies have shown that even if people can only move seating slightly, they always do as it provides a sense of ownership.”

PADDINGTON RESERVOIR “Sydney’s new Walter Reid Reserve in the old Paddington Reservoir is a bold new initiative from the City of Sydney that sees Emu and Jean Marie-Massaud’s Heaven collection from Ke-zu in use as loose outdoor furniture for the local community to rearrange and interact with as they see fit.

Heaven chair and armchair models with an aluminium finish tie in with the industrial accents of the old reservoir. Steel is woven like a fabric by means of a single automated welding process, softening the volume of the objects, rendering them almost weightless.” — Stephen Merchant

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Ke-zu: (02) 9669 1788 or www.kezu.com.au

CHAIRS IN SQUARES: SYDNEY SQUARE “The City is always looking at new and innovative ways to ensure the city is engaging and liveable for workers, residents, visitors and tourists. In March and April of this year, the City placed 100 candy-striped deck chairs, tables and chairs in Barrack Street, Wynyard, and Sydney Square, next to the Town Hall. These pop-up outdoor relaxation areas were designed to create new meeting spots and breathe new life into underused sites in the city. The idea is to provide a place to reflect and enjoy the city, not just move through it.

“We chose Sydney Square and Barrack St, Wynyard, because they are not well-used spaces but they get a lot of foot traffic. We wanted people to take advantage of Sydney’s climate by spending some time outdoors in the sunshine — something that is perhaps not done often enough in the middle of the city. ‘Chairs in Squares’ fast became a popular relaxation point in Sydney as hundreds of people each day took a rare break. Around 27,000 people took time out from their busy day to stop and relax in a chair during the eight-week trial. Free Wi-Fi was also provided in Sydney Square throughout the trial period. Plans are now afoot to further trial the initiative next spring in other locations across the city.” — Stephen Merchant

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lounging around: KOI

AMARCORD

B439 ARMCHAIR

Designer: Jarrod Lim

Design: Nicola Cacco Design for Alma Italy.

Australian made in Bindi’s Sydney factory

Materials: Powder coated steel and recycled teak wood

Materials: Chromed or painted sled steel frame, multilayer wood shell, upholstered with fabric or leather.

Available in your choice of fabric, timber and colour

Price: From $2900

Amarcord lounge chair’s generous dimensions offer comfort whilst remaining sleek and elegant. Amarcord can be completely upholstered or come with a lacquered or oak shell and cushion.

Appeared at Milan Fair 2011 Turns the repetitive form of a fish scale into the chair’s aesthetic and structure.

Innermost: 1300 448 990 or info@innermost.com.au

Trade price: Range from $750-$900+GST Insitu: (03) 9428 9622 or www.insitufurniture.com.au

Bindi Furniture: (02) 9773 4042 or www.bindifurniture.com.au

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KELLY

BLOM

HUSK

Designer: Nick Garnham & Rod Carlson

Designer: Claudio Bellini for Schiavello

Designer: Patricia Urquiola for B&B Italia

Materials: Environmentally sustainable kiln-dried hardwood frame and eco-plywood, upholstered with multiple-density CFC-free polyurethane foam.

Materials: Rotomoulded medium density polyethylene with UV additive, also available in fabric upholstery.

Configurations: Three types of cushions are available — standard, large and very large — or with a headrest. Body support can be either fixed or rotating, and ottoman footrest is an option.

Designed & Made in Australia Configurations: Standard & Highback styles, in both chair and loveseat versions Jardan: (03) 9548 8866 or www.jardan.com.au

Designed & Made in Australia Blom is comfortable, sculptural and can be used indoor or outdoor, with low and side tables also available, it comes in a wide variety of cover and colour options.

Schiavello: 1300 130 980 or www.schiavello.com/blom

Moulded plastic shell in four-toned recycled plastic, support in natural oak, or grey or black lacquered wood, and covers in leather or fabric.

Price: from $4995 Space Furniture: (02) 8339 7588 or www.spacefurniture.com.au

great outdoors:

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BORACAY EASY CHAIR

QUEEN

FATSO MODULAR SOFA

REC-LINER

Upholstered cushion

Designer: Angelo Michelii

Designer: Adam Goodrum

Globe West: (03) 9518 1600 or www.globewest.com.au

Materials: Feather cement.

A flexible seating system that can be configured in numerous arrangements

A new cement technique makes the item less heavy but maintains the same sturdiness and aesthetic of regular cement.

Produced in limited quantities Furniture Options: (08) 9228 4878 or info@furnitureoptions.com.au

Australian Made

Materials: Electro-polished stainless steel frame and UV-stable powder-coated aluminium panels.

Fatso Chair: $1895

Designed & Made in Australia

Fatso Corner: $2415

Outdoor lounger with or without arms.

Fatso Ottoman: $1375

Lightweight, durable components that reflect the Good Environmental Choice Australia criteria and the silhouette of a soaring sea bird.

Robert Plumb: (02) 9316 9066 or www.robertplumb.com.au

Tait: (03) 9416 0909 or www.tait.biz

2011 milan furniture fair PROUST CHAIR

321,320 visitors 150 countries

2700 exhibitors 24 display halls

700 young designers

200,000sqm 5313 journalists

Alessandro Mendini Magis Photo: Nexus Designs

50 CHAIR

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Jorg Boner Wogg Photo: Wogg

Here are some insights into the 2011 Milan Furniture Fair from Nexus Designs’ Harley Anstee and Michael Malignaggi: Rocking chairs and recliners — the nostalgia.

Revamped and reinvented releases of old favourites — more nostalgia.

Exciting new outdoor furniture designs.

REMEMBER ME CHAIR Tobias Juretzek Casamania Photo: Nexus Designs

The prevalence of sustainability in the manufacturing processes of many new designs.

Plenty of young designers, from a range of different countries, participated in venues outside of the Fair.

The strength of colour — particularly blue and orange — provided a strong and bold departure from the subdued palettes of some earlier Fairs.

FOLIAGE SETTEE Patricia Urquiola Moroso Photo: Moroso

The Far East was the unmistakeable source of inspiration for several furniture items presented by EmmeBi Designs.

Black, white and grey colours, combined with light coloured and washed timbers, provided a neutral background.

KLARA CHAIR

OTTO CHAIR

Patricia Urquiola

Gervasoni

Moroso

Gervasoni

Photo: Nexus Designs

Photo: Nexus Designs

PAPER PLANES CHAIRS

BUNKY BED

Nipa Doshi & Jonathon Levien

Marc Newson

Moroso

Magis

Photo: Saverio Lombardi Vallauri

Photo: Nexus Designs

BIKNIT CHAISE & CHAIR

KLOE CHAIR

Patricia Urquiola

Marco Acerbis

Moroso

Desalto

Photo: Nexus Designs

Photo: Nexus Designs

LOOP LOUNGE

COMEBACK CHAIR

Sophie de Vocht

Patricia Urquiola

Casamania

Kartell

Photo: Saverio Lombardi Vallauri

Photo: Kartell

FAVN SETTEE

GRINZA CHAIR

Jamie Hayon Fritz Hansen

Fernando & Humberto Campana

Photo: Nexus Designs

Edra Photo: Nexus Designs

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LEE BROOM Story: Mark Davie

The 34-year old UK interior and furniture designer checks in with venue about what’s been happening in hospitality and furniture design over in the UK. The fashion school student interned with Vivienne Westwood and counts Kanye West as a fan — the only endorsement a designer really needs.

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To hear more from Lee Broom check him out at Furnitex.

Happening at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre from Thursday 21st July - Sunday 24th July. Lee is scheduled to deliver a presentation between 9:30-10:30 Friday morning. Tickets available at www.furnitex.com.au

W

e caught up with Lee in London while he was putting finishing touches to his new collection for the London Design Festival in September, and getting ready to head out to Australia for his keynote address at Furnitex. venue: What are you showing at the London Design Festival?

Lee Broom: I’ve got a new collection, which is an upholstery collection.

It’s the first time I’ve done designs in upholstery, but it was about time. I’m going to be displaying it in my studio and showroom, which is in one of the main hubs of the design festival. venue: How did you get into furniture design?

LB: I was studying women’s wear at fashion school. But while at university I created this side business to support myself through college. I used to go to a couple of my local bars and give them bits of décor advice. You know, put drapes up and make mirror frames. venue: Was that welcome advice?

LB: Yeah [laughs]. I didn’t just storm in and try to decorate their bars. It started off with me saying, “Look I’m a student, do you want any work here?” And their response would be something like, “Okay we need some curtains made or some upholstery done.”

I was lucky enough that one particular group eventually purchased a really large venue in the financial district in the centre of London. That was the first major project that I undertook. They’d invested three quarters of a million pounds in it. It had a capacity of 1000 people and it took about nine months to refurbish. I worked with architects, so I would do all the sketching and they would produce all the CAD drawings, and I was project managing the whole thing as well. I was really thrown into the deep end. In retrospect it was like an intensive training course in interior design.

FROM STADIUMS TO INTIMATE VENUES venue: When did furniture design come into the picture?

LB: Just before I launched the furniture collection I was asked to redesign 40 executive boxes at Wembley Stadium. It wasn’t a complete redesign, more furniture enhancements. I designed three different types of furniture settings and interior settings from which they could choose. venue: Was it because you couldn’t find anything that worked?

LB: The reason for making bespoke items was because we were working with rooms that needed to seat eight, 12, or 20 people around a table or in sofa areas. So operationally and from a flow perspective it needed to be bespoke. Also Wembley wanted something that was specific for them, designs you couldn’t buy anywhere else. venue: With your furniture collections now, do you still design with a hospitality orientation?

LB: My first collection, ‘Neo Neon’, which is Chippendale-style furniture with neon lighting around it, that is the opposite of what you could put in bars and restaurants. I wanted to do something that was purely about the aesthetic not necessarily about the functionality, because up until that point everything I’d been doing had to be suitable for a commercial environment. ‘Neo Neon’ is more of an art piece. Since then I’ve considered the commercial environment more. Particularly with the ‘One Light Only’ collection, bars are one of our main markets.

RECESSION DESIGN venue: What’s happening in UK bars at the moment?

LB: In London we’ve had a recession. That shakes the industry up a little.

Budgets were depleted so designers had to be a bit more creative with interiors. Also, out of the recession came a lot of vacant units. Because of that people were, and still are, leasing out the spaces on a temporary basis — we’re getting a lot of pop-up venues that are around for a few months.

That’s quite exciting because everybody wants to see it for the moment that it’s open and it has obvious cost implications because it’s temporary — many designers create a temporary look that is almost like set design.

In some cases it could look rustic or it might look neo-classic — it’s been quite creative.

It’s also given bar operators and new operators an opportunity to trial new ideas in a temporary way. And the kinds of looks that come out of that also inspire more permanent places. For instance, maybe three years ago in East London there was a bar that popped up and all the walls were chipboard. It almost looked like it was in refurbishment stage, but with decorative lights. There was something raw and underground about it, and since then I’ve seen chipboard being used in venues elsewhere, but in a slightly more polished way. Temporary materials have cropped up a more industrial look in London. venue: Is your furniture designed for beauty, functionality, or something else?

LB: It’s neither one nor the other, it’s somewhere in the middle.

With the lighting collections I’m definitely looking at functionality at the same time as aesthetic values. And then there are other times where I’ll think of an idea that’s much more emotional and less intellectual. It’s about the beauty of something or how I can create things in ways that haven’t been done before. For instance, I infused carpet onto furniture pieces. It hadn’t been done in that way and was complex, it took months and months to achieve and get it right.

I like the idea of pushing something that doesn’t look like it should work, but does. venue: How do you come to the point of figuring out how to manufacture those complex pieces?

LB: It’s constantly making various samples and prototypes and experimenting with different ways to do something. For instance, with the carpet collection I did a lot of sketching and then we put together a computer visual of how it was going to look. No matter how intricate it is we always put it into the computer so I can get an idea of the scale, the colour, and the feel.

I always say to everybody, “let’s not think practically at this point, this is all about ideas.” And then when you get to the visual you want, it’s a laborious task of problem solving, and that can go on forever.

I had meetings with so many different carpet companies and manufacturers. You get to a point and then they just say ‘no’ because

they don’t understand it. Eventually you find one person that has the enthusiasm you have for it and likes the challenge, and then it becomes possible. It’s really about not giving up on the product. venue: Is there a point where people won’t notice the effort gone into it?

LB: Probably. But that’s the beauty of it as well. The nicest things tend to look the simplest. I want to make things as clean and as seamless as possible.

FINAL DESTINATION venue: When it comes down to designing the furniture do you envisage a place where it will end up?

LB: It’s not so much about the house or hotel or wherever it’s going to end up, it’s more about how it’s going to be presented. At the same time I tend to design quite a lot of pieces for my own home, so I’ll move bits of furniture out and put a new chair in there. If I wanted to buy something new for my flat my partner’s always saying, “Oh no, no, don’t buy something, just design it.” Then we usually have to wait six months for it instead of a few days. venue: What are you going to do while you’re here in Australia?

LB: I definitely want to go out and see some of Melbourne and Sydney’s nightlife because you don’t want to be too influenced by what you see all the time. London’s very big but still quite small. When you go away and look at international venues you get to see different ways in which people are going out and drinking and how the venues look. I’ve only ever heard amazing things about Australia. venue: Would you ever start your own bar?

LB: I definitely toyed with the idea on a number of occasions and I’ve gone off it because I know how much work’s involved. I certainly have enough experience doing the interiors but you pick up the operational aspect as well when you design that many venues.

In some cases, particularly first time operators, I find myself giving them advice based on past experiences. I probably should but it does seem like a lot of work.

Source new furniture & furnishings for hotels, motels, clubs & restaurants Co-located with

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SHOE S PLATFORM Florsheim: Shop 2026C, Westfield Sydney City Centre NSW

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Artemide (Melampo Notte Table Lamps): 1300 135 709 or www.artemide.com.au

1

hoe store? Get a grip. You may as well call Florsheim’s new premium retail footware environment ‘a cobbler’. The shoemaker that first established itself in Chicago in 1892 has a new flagship store at Westfield Sydney City Centre, and it’s big on providing customers with a ‘brand experience’, or as David Venner, President of Florsheim Australia, puts it, the store “puts Australia at the forefront of global development of the retail brand image.”

Florsheim commissioned big-name international architect Eric Carlson, Director of Carbondale in Paris, as the artistic director of the new store. Anthony Lloyd, Director of Studio Plus Group, designed the internal fitout in conjunction with Eric Carlson.

Eric Carlson describes the design of the Florsheim flagship store: “The two-storey Florsheim facade is a luminous, light and airy stacking of ephemeral boxes framed on both sides by the opaque, metallic neighbouring stores. The facade comprises a multi-layered collage of coloured glass squares and rectangles, to all appearances magically suspended within the thickness of the facade. Working with Studioplus we positioned box-shaped window displays and entry doors to display the products, but also to frame views into the interior spaces for the passersby.”

Studioplus went to work on the interiors drawing on an earthy palette typified by the travertine marble display plinths with waterjet-cut patterns detailing the familiar brogue pattern.

Meanwhile, the wingback club chair has been especially re-imagined for the project. In all, Florsheim is luxurious yet inviting.

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X HITS T THE SPOT Kings Cross Hotel has shed the gloss and returned to its colourful history.

Story: Joanna Lowry Kings Cross Hotel: 244-248 William St, Kings Cross NSW (02) 9331 9900 or www.kingscrosshotel.com.au

46 CONTACTS Musicland: (02) 9361 0459 or www.musicland.net.au Humphrey & Edwards Architects: (02) 9357 2288 or www.h-e.com.au FBi Radio: (02) 8332 2999 or www.fbiradio.com Brintons (Carpet): 1800 332 694 or www.brintons.net Contempo Furniture (Furniture & Lighting): (08) 9443 5439 or www.contempocollection.com.au Jands (Dive Bar Curtains): (02) 9582 0909 or www.jands.com.au Angelfish Aquarium Design (Fish Tank): 0405 505 746 or www.angelfishdesign.com.au UTJ Joinery (Ground Floor Bar Construction): (02) 4271 5522 or www.utjinteriors.com.au Life Interiors (First Floor Stools): (02) 9518 4038 or www.lifeinteriors.com.au Skheme (Tiles) (02) 8755 2300 or www.skheme.com Open Shutters (Timber Shutters) 1300 136 911 or www.openshutters.com.au AUDIO CONTACTS Hills SVL (Lab.gruppen, Turbosound & Media Matrix): (02) 9647 1411 or www.hillssvl.com.au 1

TAG (Martin Audio & QSC): (02) 9519 0900 or info@tag.com.au Group Technologies (RCF): (03) 9354 9133 or www.grouptechnologies.com.au

he Cross: sin city; a red-light hotbed of bohemia and vice; birthplace of the grating catchphrase ‘Chk-chk-boom’.

Situated within stumbling distance of the Coca-Cola sign, the Kings Cross Hotel has seen almost a century of miscreant behaviour. Built in 1913, the eight-storey building has had a multitude of owners, faced closure numerous times and has a history that is just as colourful as the suburb in which it stands. But its last incarnation wasn’t so colourful. “The previous administration completely missed the mark,” Chris Grinham from Humphrey & Edwards Architects said. “They gentrified it so the interior looked like the lobby of a hotel. There was a lot of stainless steel. Everything else was beige. It’s certainly not beige now.”

Hospitality group Solotel is the current owner and its overhaul puts the Kings Cross Hotel back in touch with its dirty, grimy past.

At least that was the intention of Dive Bar, the Twin Peaks-esque haunt that occupies the lower ground floor of the building. The décor includes a ’50s jukebox, velvet curtains, a fish tank and a taxidermy crocodile. Adorning the walls are paintings of prisoners and black and white photographs of Kings Cross prostitutes. “We were trying to get that local identity, that characterisation of The Cross,” Grinham said. “We wanted a skanky, kick-on bar. It opens late; it stays open until the early hours of the morning. It’s dark, dingy, grungy and gritty. We definitely weren’t going for any sort of tailored look.”

BOTTOMS UP Dive Bar — like all good skanky, kick-on bars — is inconspicuous.

You’re meant to stumble upon it. “The entrance to Dive Bar is supposed to be a sort of porthole door,” noted Lachlan Cuthbert from Musicland. “A lot of people who have visited the venue haven’t heard about it. It’s a bit mysterious; it’s a place you discover. It’s also filling the gap for a small late-night bar. Sydney bars have a tendency to shut house at midnight.”

Dive Bar is tucked under Ground Floor, the area you see when you walk into the venue. “We didn’t want it to look too much like an RSL, but it has a very rustic feel,” Cuthbert said of Ground Floor. “There are pokies, but we wanted to avoid making it a pokie-den.” Grinham explains that the idea was to keep it unpretentious. “Ground Floor is a classic pub,” he said. “There’s wooden panelling mixed with furniture sourced from op-shops. It’s a place where the residents of Kings Cross can feel comfortable. They can come here and have a drink after work.”

Both Grinham and Cuthbert agree that Level One is “very New York”. Presumably this refers to the adjoining outdoor terrace area, the exposed brickwork and the huge bar, which stretches the full length of the room. “The bar actually came out of practical issues from trying to get the kitchen to work,” Grinham said.

“We decided it would just be easier to push everyone outside.”

Whatever the reason, it works. And it looks great and has become something of a social hub. “If you want a bit of privacy you can go outside,” Grinham said, “but if you grab a stool by the bar you’re forced to talk to the guy next to you.”

FBI GET INVOLVED Initially conceived as a pop-up, FBi Social, an extension of the community radio station, now permanently occupies Level Two. “We were looking for a performance space to showcase the local bands we promote on air,” Denae Goiser from FBi Radio explains.

“Solotel approached us because they wanted to bring live music back to The Cross. The timing was perfect and there’s definitely a synergy to the partnership.” The personalities behind some of FBi’s specialist shows have taken the reins and the result is an eclectic rotation of live music — ambient electronica one night, DIY punk the next. One event that has been particularly successful is ‘Sketch the Rhyme’ — a showcase of spontaneous performance art where artists paint their impressions of improvised rapping. “I guess it’s a little bit like musical Pictionary,” Goiser said.

“We definitely weren’t going for any sort of tailored look”

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CROSS WIRED Lachlan Cuthbert of Musicland walks venue through the audio system: With a vision to ‘bring live music back to the Cross’ the Kings Cross Hotel demanded a comprehensive AV solution. With seven floors, most with multiple audio zones and an operational need for multi functionality, it’s a monster ‘pub’ fit out. The heart of the system are two Media Matrix Nion n3 units running all audio via CobraNet which handle some 60 inputs and 40 outputs (and counting). Through additional I/O the system shares data between the two separate rack locations. The central rack located in the basement handles the floors up to level three, with the rack located on level three handling that floor and the remaining three floors above. The PA was selected to meet the individual needs of each floor, which required a number of different manufacturers to address specific applications. TurboSound cover most of the general tasks with TCX and impact line gear powered by Lab.gruppen amplifiers. Level 4 has a Martin Blackline system delivering serious club SPLs driven by QSC amplifiers. On top of that, RCF Compact series boxes handle a number of areas within the venue.

“The kids like that there are some oldies who are a little bit rough around the edges, and the oldies like being around the kids because it makes them feel dangerous”

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Level Three is currently vacant, but a club night is on the cards.

As the saying goes: watch this space. Level Four was the vision of architect Brian Paisley. “The interior is very theatrical, it could be an old stage set,” Grinham said. Vintage wingback chairs sourced from Russia create a bordello feel and artist Angela Davies painted the walls with a Renaissance-style mural. There are quirky touches, too — a fireplace doubles as a DJ booth and there’s a cheeky portrait of Queen Victoria as a punk.

Up another flight of stairs is The Rooftop Garden, and with a killer cityscape view, it’s one of Sydney’s best. Ornate lanterns and rusty birdcages hang from timber awnings above a smattering of wicker chairs and trestle tables. Adding a touch of retro kitsch are the cocktail menus, which are covered in ’70s car manuals.

“When we first got up here it was fairly stark,” Grinham said.

“We tried to bring a degree of softness. We wanted something a little bit ad hoc and happenstance, which made use of recycled materials.” For Cuthbert, who was not only involved in the design process, but also in the audiovisual installation, the rooftop presented a number of challenges. “With the existing infrastructure we were getting quite a few noise complaints,” he said. “We wanted to be vigilant and not cause problems. We’ve redone it so that the PA system shoots back into the venue. The DJ area is on a raised platform which is heavily treated.”

ALTOGETHER NOW Finally, there’s The Moroccan Room, a private function space with hookahs and a mosaic, tented roof. It’s the apex of what is a behemoth eight-storey building. As Cuthbert points out, “there really are a ridiculous number of levels,” and historically one the problems has been getting patrons to climb flights of stairs and explore the different spaces. “What we’ve learnt is that having the whole thing looking like one autonomous unit just doesn’t work,” Cuthbert said. “For a venue of this size, success lies in making each floor individual and attractive.”

That’s exactly what the Solotel renovation has done. The Kings Cross Hotel is now an eclectic, sprawling space with an equally diverse clientele. “The great thing about it is that it pulls the locals, but you’ve got a young music crowd mixing in with them,” Grinham said. “The kids like that there are some oldies who are a little bit rough around the edges, and the oldies like being around the kids because it makes them feel dangerous. There’s always been a colourful crowd around that part of town anyway.”

1

Angela Davies’ renaissance-style murals are naughtier than the prostitute portraits.

1 Arthur Street Fortitude Valley Q 4006 kpabris@kparchitects.com.au www.kparchitects.com.au t 07 3358 1188 f 07 3358 2088

SMOOTH OPERATOR Swimming in crazy German hospitality at the Berlinale.

Matt Mullins is a partner in Sand Hill Road hospitality group A few years ago, in a flight of fancy — no more sensible than the time I tried skating down the carport roof as a seven-year old — Sand Hill Road Hospitality evolved into Sand Hill Road Pictures. As if owning pubs didn’t offer ample ways to lose money, we decided to try film-making, and really make sure of it.

As expected, we haven’t got rich. But man we’ve had some fun. We were lucky enough to be invited to screen at the Berlin International Film Festival this year, from where we’ve recently returned. And if there’s one thing you need to know about Berliners it’s: they’ll use any excuse for a party. And the one thing you need to know about the Berlinale is: it’s the ultimate excuse for a party. So there’s one thing you need to know about us: we have hangovers that we’ll carry to our graves.

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“The titles of Server, Waiter or Host are worn

by Berliners like a comfortable old jumper”

WHIRLWIND TOUR The Berlinale is a 20-hour-a-day whirlwind of eating-out, drinking-out, screenings, Q&As, parties, and meetings. Each day started at a breakfast meeting before 9am, and most days ended way too close to Column dawn to get anything like a good night’s sleep. And man it hurt!

That sort of experience is a double-edged sword. The more Berlin makes your dreams come true, the harder it is to get up the next day.

Seriously, I’ve run marathons and felt less exhausted.

We arrived in Berlin on a Friday, with our wives and girlfriends (you try telling your wife you’re going to Berlin for a week with your best mates and she can’t come). Good day to arrive in any city as it turns out. By 6pm local time we’d found a beer hall near our hotel. By 6:10 we had 10L of beer on our table. By 6:30 we had another 10L. By 6:40 they’d brought us a couple of kilos of pig and potatoes and we got the first hint that pig was going to play a particularly big role in our time in Berlin.

By 10pm a bunch of locals had taken us to their favourite wine bar. By midnight it was their favourite nightclub. By 3am their favourite sex club. Yes — that’s right. Those Germans are crazy.

Incidentally, if you’re planning on hitting the Kit Kat Club when next you’re in Berlin, don’t arrive at the front door wearing clothes. Apparently that was the tell-tale sign that we weren’t from round those parts.

That, and the Berlinale lanyards we were sporting like they were bling.

SHARED EXPERIENCE The venues we visited that first night were varied — and in the ensuing week we struck out further into unchartered waters — but we were struck by the universal understanding of hospitality shared by all: concierge, waitress, doorman, random bloke on the street. Hospitality seems ingrained in Berliners in a way quite unlike it is in us Aussies.

The titles of Server, Waiter or Host are worn by Berliners like a comfortable old jumper. And I guess that’s not surprising given Germanic peoples have been providing hospitality to locals and visitors alike for thousands of years.

This was most evident at Soho House, the Berlin chapter of the London boutique hotel and private members’ club. All week we’d been hearing stories of the parties we weren’t invited to. Johnny Depp, Bono, Madonna — all guests of the festival, all staying at Soho House, all partying

it up amongst piles of coke in the House’s penthouse members’ club. Then, via a serendipitous act of administrative incompetence for which I will be forever grateful, I was relocated from our small 2-star hotel at Checkpoint Charlie to… you guessed it, Soho House!

PARTY MEMBERSHIP Set over eight levels in a beautiful 1920s building that was for much of its life home to the East German Communist Party, but had been derelict for the past 20 years, Soho House Berlin is a boutique hotel, spa, bistro, function room, fitness centre, cocktail bar and nightclub — and it’s the best of each of those that I’ve ever experienced.

The interior is a wonderfully inventive combination of industrial, mid-century and iron curtain, with a hint of post-modern pastiche. The club floor on Level 8 is the heart of the hotel, where armchairs, lounges and dining tables sprawl around the elegant island bar. From 6am in the morning ’til 3am the following morning, the space plays host to breakfasts, meetings, diners, drinkers and dancing. This is easily the most versatile hospitality offering I’ve ever witnessed. Just how a room can so perfectly be all things to all people at all times is beyond me, although I spent many long hours there trying to work it out.

Architecturally, the space is perfectly conceived, with as much attention paid to the practical questions of precisely how patrons will sit, move and interact with each other, as to the overall aesthetic.

Clearly the exclusivity and access of private membership is a drawcard, but it’s also a drawback in that the House’s market — by its nature — is limited to a select group of people. The equivalent institutions in Australia, if any, are probably private clubs like the Australia or Melbourne clubs, but these clearly cater to an older membership, with a far more conservative hospitality offering. A few Australian operators have attempted the Soho House model with only modest success.

ORGANISED CHAOS The other thing you notice at a place like Soho House, besides the hospitality, is the organisation. Much is made of the almost pathological efficiency inherent in all Germans. There was one fascinating exception to this rule — so obscure I’m not surprised it has slipped under the radar all this time. It took my admittedly unusual penchant for swimming laps in foreign countries to discover the hotbed of disorganisation that is the German swimming pool.

Before dipping a toe, you pass through five separate stations, each one perfectly designed to aid you in the process of removing and storing your clothes, until you find yourself in the world’s grandest swimming hall with a pair of Speedos, a locker key, and no idea just how you got there. So far, so German. But the moment you hit the water, chaos reigns. And as I was ducking under large geriatric breaststrokers and being swum over by former East German Olympians I wondered how it was that the people who invented the binary numerical system, aspirin and the Christmas tree had somehow missed swimming lanes.

Yep — those Germans sure are crazy.

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F ALL SIZED UP

irst off, let’s address the elephant in the room, the ostrich in the outback, the unwieldy pub in suburbia. Let’s talk about size.

With a hundred beer taps, you sure as hell won’t go thirsty at Eatons Hill Hotel, now Queensland’s largest venue.

But what of the moment when, beer in hand, you turn from the bar with a view to finding the ideal seat — somewhere you can rest your caboose in a padded booth, take in the sport screen or find a spot of privacy with a few friends. What place has the coveted drinker’s nook in a venue of 7500sqm?

It isn’t a challenge Kon Panagopolous of KP Architects is looking to disguise, but there was an ‘aha’ moment.

“We didn’t look at it and go ‘My goodness, this pub’s so big’,” said Kon. “It was about trying to create a series of small spaces and break them down into more comfortable, enjoyable spaces, where if there was only two people in the whole pub you wouldn’t feel like you’re sitting in an empty space.”

Plans for Eatons Hill Hotel kept growing and growing around a 150-year old fig tree, eventually becoming the biggest pub in Queensland.

Story: Jessica Black 52

Eatons Hill Hotel & Function Centre: 646 South Pine Road, Eatons Hill QLD (07) 3325 6777 or www.eatonshillhotel.com.au

KP Architects and Comiskey Group really give a fig.

BIGGER AND BETTER? As awkwardly as a pub of its size might sit in the common imagination, the idea itself was surprisingly organic, and talking to Robert Comiskey, Director of the Comiskey Group behind the hotel, it’s clear he isn’t fazed by the word ‘big’.

“We started talking about a hotel, then started doing concept drawings and working on areas,” said Rob. “And it just grew. It was a large hotel from the start but then it ended up being massive.

The first concept drawings are probably half the size. We just kept drawing it and drawing it and getting it right.”

The first drawings might have come easily, but the final design took longer to take hold, and very nearly went a different route altogether. KP Architects were the second architects to give it a crack, and crack it, choosing to build around the 150-year old fig tree that their predecessors had planned to remove. “[The earlier design] was more conventional and [the Comiskey Group] said they wanted something more iconic,” said Kon. “What we tried to do was utilise the fig tree and focus the hotel around that tree, so people could relate to it better.”

The result is an aesthetic that harnesses the ephemeral beauty of nature — not the ephemeral nature of trends. As such, there are no ‘flash colours’, nothing wacky in the bathroom — a fascination that Rob detests — and largely neutral, natural finishes in the interior.

“We didn’t want to spend money on things that are short term.

A nice carpet is great to have but you don’t remember what that carpet was like when you were in that space. What you remember is the experience, why you liked it, sitting under a tree, and how nice it was with the light coming through,” said Kon. “You tend to forget what the actual pub really looks like.”

ACCESS ALL AUDIO Nightlife has three of its systems driving Eatons Hill’s music, visuals and advertising. The install also feature Nightlife’s new DJPro solution that integrates Nightlife’s vast library of 100% legal music with industry-standard Pioneer CDJ-900 and CDJ-1200 controllers, as well as Cue DJ software. This means Nightlife’s Hard Drive Music System is accessible by DJs in a format they know, as well as being fully functional as a background system at all other times.

Nightlife: 1800 679 748 or www.nightlife.com.au

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“We didn’t look at it and go ‘My goodness, this pub’s so big”

CONTACTS Brintons (Carpet): (03) 5226 3200 or enquiries@brintons.com.au 1

Kennedy’s Timbers (Floors, Tables & Custom Joinery): 1300 788 884 or www.kennedystimbers.com.au

Cafe Culture (Furniture): 2 Altonet Tall Stool 3 Tatami Chair 4 Cool Chair (02) 9699 8577 or www.cafeculture.com.au Tait (Furniture): (03) 9419 7484 or www.tait.biz Nextrend (Furniture): 1300 559 965 or www.nextrendfurniture.com.au Fusion Agencies (Wallpapers): (07) 3358 2552 or sales@fusionagencies.com.au FEDS (AV): 0412 076 899

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The one exception to Kon and Rob’s ‘no gimmick’ ethos is a litup scale model of the great Fig erected in the foyer. Kon concedes the replica tree has been a ‘pap’ magnet, with punters shooting their cameras up into the fake fairy-light filled canopy. And though the cameras are less likely to snap the subtler design references to the natural landscape, punters will feel them in the natural fittings — featuring recycled timber and a palette of greens, browns and neutrals.

The team also thumbs its nose at faux ageing processes, choosing materials that had actually been aged by time over engaging artificial antique-y finishes. Drawing on the olde-worlde drinking nook, the cellar bar is lined with recycled bricks and whitewashed to conjure days of yore. “We got the bricklayers to lay them rough, which they weren’t used to,” said Rob. IN & OUT OF DOORS In sympathy with the natural surrounds, and the hip pocket, there are environmental considerations across the board, from LED lighting to recycled water. “We’ve invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in the water treatment and all our lighting is highly efficient because in a venue this size if you don’t look after that the costs would be astronomical,” said Rob. In a similar vein, interspersing the internal space with outdoor stretches has given Eatons Hill Hotel a link with the climate that could be lost in a boxier beer hall where the season is set by the air conditioner. “There are a lot of open windows and it embraces the climate rather than fighting against it. It has a lot of open spaces and bifold doors, especially between the beer garden and the hotel, basically the whole building opens up,” said Rob. While Rob and Kon have bowed to the weather, and let the light in, there are some necessary concessions for when al fresco isn’t on the agenda. “With the other hotels we’ve owned, if you sit people on the verandah on a beautiful day everyone will sit on the verandah. On a not so beautiful day no one wants to sit on the verandah so it’s wasted space and you lose a good 150 seats,” said Rob. “We’ve created what we like to call the ‘indoor verandah’ — all the bifolds open up.

Basically, it’s like the feeling of a verandah on a beautiful day and if it’s a crappy day we close it all up so it feels like an internal space.”

Making the largest pub in Queensland cosy isn’t necessarily easy, but it is necessary. “While crowds are big on a Friday and Saturday night here,” said Kon. “They’re not big on a Tuesday, so it’s how you break down those spaces and give people opportunities to feel comfortable.” But with a ballroom newly opened to a crowd of thousands, and a rooftop bar on the way, even Tuesdays might lack the quieter moments.

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SETTING T THE PUBLIC BAR Four mates get together to start Sand Hill Road over a decade ago. Now they’re renovating four pubs in a calendar year. How time flies.

Prahran Hotel: 82 High St, Prahran VIC (03) 9529 2168 or www.prahranhotel.com

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Photography: Shannon McGrath

he Sand Hill Road boys have embarked on four renovations in a calendar year. Talk about ambitious. Simultaneously The Richmond Club Hotel is expanding from two to four levels, the Bridge Hotel is getting sliced in half to make way for a laneway with overhanging terraces, and the place where it all started, Holliava, is getting a makeover. But the first to be unveiled is the newly refurbished Prahran Hotel. It follows the group’s pattern of buying distressed pubs around Richmond and Prahran, rejuvenating them and offering them back to the public with a tidy makeover, while keeping parmas and Carlton Draught on the menu.

It’s a lot on anyone’s plate, but to hear the four friends talk about it, tag-team wrestling four renovations to the ground couldn’t be any more natural. It’s all about keeping perspective on the numbers.

“We never put ourselves in the situation where we over-capitalise a particular project within the group,” said one of the four, Andy Mullins. “We’re up to venue number eight. We could let one get away from us, think we know a formula and spend six million dollars on it. The Bridge had a couple of a million bucks put into it.

But we can ride that out, whereas some operators don’t have that.”

“We know what certain numbers do now,” adds Andy’s brother, Matt. “When you hear of numbers like four, five, six million being put into a site, particularly a lease, it should make you really nervous. Because we know what it takes to do 100 grand a week turnover and you don’t need to spend six million dollars doing it. But if you’re not doing those sorts of numbers, you’re f***ed!”

STREAMLINED DESIGN The Prahran Hotel is a heritage-listed example of Streamline Moderne architecture. Basically, it’s where Art Deco moved to when the money dried up — stripping out the movement’s floral flourishes in favour of aerodynamic pure lines. A penchant for motion and speed resulted in simple curves you can find all throughout the Prahran Hotel. The Streamline Moderne movement was particularly fond of nautical elements, and the maritime influence fits in swimmingly in Prahran — elliptical mirrors, royal blue carpets and upholstery, and laser-cut screens cut from Streamline-era patterns that divide the space into nooks.

Justin Northrop of Techne Architects worked with Sand Hill Road on the design, which included restoring the neglected exterior. Upstairs, the Prahran Hotel is going places, ancient leather luggage and old travel guides hark back to the grand era of steamboat travel. The original layout of the hotel rooms has been retained, with widened doorways making way for semi-private function spaces. Northrop also turned his hand to the artwork, overlaying modern geometric designs over giant Rubens and Rembrandt prints.

A PUB’S A PUB With a clean design, Rembrandts on the walls, and strategically placed luggage, the question had to be asked of these local boys, when does a pub cease to be a pub?

Andy: “There are a few things that a pub just needs and if you haven’t got them, you’re not a pub. If you haven’t got a public bar… you’re not a pub. People walk into a room and know it’s a public bar — it’s a mood, not just about having Carlton Draught on tap. The food’s another thing. For example, if you want a simple cut-through on, for the foreseeable future I don’t think we could see ourselves opening up a venue without a parma.

We pushed the boundaries here a little bit. We tried to cater more to the ‘foodie’ crowd at the beginning and our customers told us that we’re a pub. The way we knew that was looking at the sales figures. Burgers, parma’s, steaks, fish ‘n’chips… pub, pub, pub. We built this pub thinking maybe this is the one that goes more towards a restaurant, but in the first four weeks the market said ‘no’ — we want you as a pub, we need you as a pub. Every community needs a pub!

“It’s not rocket science… make people feel comfortable, that’s what a pub is” 57

Going somewhere? — Steamer trunks ooze Streamline Moderne nautical style.

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venue: What made you decide on The Prahran Hotel?

Matt: At uni three of us lived within 150m of this venue at some stage in our 20s. As residents we knew we wanted a decent pub. There are two types of hotel or pub in this area. One, you’ve got to dress right up to get in. The other is where you’ve got to dress right down to fit in properly.

There’s nothing for general 25-45 year-old locals who want to go to the pub with the wife, the girlfriend, the mates and not really care about what they’re wearing or how they look, just smiling and having a good time. It’s that simple. We’ll keep producing pubs that are that accessible and egalitarian — there’s always room for it. It’s not rocket science… make people feel comfortable, that’s what a pub is.

Andy: Over the last 10 years we’ve been slowly refining what we like — our model of business — and it’s certainly been based on results. We’ve tried a lot of venues. We tried a nightclub in the city, we tried one in Queensland, and we’ve moved away from them because the experiment wasn’t right for us. We’ve gone towards the things that make more sense to us, and this type of pub seems like it’s it.

Doug Maskiell: It’s because we understand it. There are plenty of places I go to in Melbourne where I really love the experience of being in these venues but I don’t innately understand them — I can’t see the system behind it. I understand this; this is who the four of us are. If we tried to go and do an $8m restaurant we’d lose that money, you can almost guarantee it, because we don’t innately understand it. venue: How did the Prahran Hotel become available?

Andy: It was pretty much vacant possession, a rundown business. We lived in Charles Street just over the road. Back 10 years ago this was a really cutting edge pub and we fell in love with it back then, but it’d gone through two or three generations since that stage.

Matt: We’ve never had to work out how much a business was turning over to justify a purchase price. We ended up buying this little pub that was going out of business. If we hadn’t bought it, it would have probably closed its doors not long after.

But that, combined with the fact that we don’t have to spend much to renovate it, means we can sit here and slowly explore what’s going to give it more life and improve things here and there. We’re not under as much pressure to deliver extraordinary results straight away. But hopefully if we get lucky we do anyway.

Doug: We look at plenty of pubs a month that are either up for sale, potentially up for sale, or ones that we earmark. And 90% of them, on almost a gut reaction, one or all of us will go, “Nah, it just doesn’t feel right.” And it’s only that gem you walk into and all four of us envisage it straight away. venue: Do you always attempt to build a local?

Andy: We don’t try and build a pub in Prahran assuming that people from across town or the CBD are going to come out to it. They might, but they’re primarily local pubs for locals.

Matt: That assessment process is based on the licence. It’s got to have a certain size for us to call it a local pub. The location is a really big one, we have to innately understand the market — we’ve got to almost be that market — and the lease. If one of those three things, the licence, the lease or the location isn’t right, we wouldn’t do it.

If we got past Doug’s first stage we still come back to those three things and if we couldn’t get it right we’d happily say no. venue: How long would it usually take you from when you found a pub to actually purchasing it?

Andy: It could be hours… tick, tick, tick and the price is right. If we find distressed assets we jump on it pretty quickly.

THE PERFECT NUMBER venue: You’ve had a few drop off along the way, but how many venues would you be able to handle at any one time?

Matt: We’d be able to do eight to 10 before we’d really have to reassess our business model. We’re five at the moment.

We’ve always said we don’t want a big company life, that’s not the point. And there mightn’t be eight to 10 perfect venues out there either. We’ve learnt as much from failing as we have by succeeding. But as our accountant said, “You get rich off the deals you don’t do rather than the one’s you do.”

Doug: But if 10 pubs means we spend more time surfing then 10 is a good number. venue: So what attracted you to this pub in particular?

Matt: We could not find a downside to this pub. When you do local community pubs you get a lot of love from locals, especially as this is an iconic pub that had fallen on bad times. You get a lot of love when you return a pub back to its glory days.

Sometimes it doesn’t mean putting so much money into it that you don’t recognise the pub anymore. Anyone who comes into this place can instantly recognise where they were the time they had that conversation or that pash or that band they saw. So we haven’t fundamentally changed the pub, we’ve just prettied it up and given it back to the locals who it belongs to. And that’s pretty powerful. We like doing that.

If you give them a chance to love it again, they do. The Richmond Club locals got wind very early on that we were going up two levels and there was a lot of feedback early on saying, “Don’t ruin our pub.” You couldn’t believe that putting on two levels was going to ruin a pub but to them they were so concerned that it might not be their local pub anymore. No one fights for restaurants that way. No one cares. Whereas a pub is a part of people’s lives.

Doug: That’s why these places have got so many different nooks and corners, because they allow different uses.

Tom Birch: By and large the same guy can use the same pub for different reasons at different times. For example, I’d love to come here for dinner with my wife and hang out and have a couple of drinks. And the next night I could come here with these guys, go crazy and have a ball.

Andy: Restaurants don’t let you do that. Bars don’t let you do that. A pub is unique in that it lets you do those things. venue: What has changed since you first bought a pub?

Tom: Everything costs a lot more.

Matt: Our story was four mates buying a pub for a $100,000, putting $20,000 into it and having a great pub. That probably wouldn’t happen now. The market wouldn’t let you. There are plenty of people trying to do it like that but they’re not succeeding with it because the boundaries have been pushed.

Tom: I’m always hopeful that you can do it. It’s all relative isn’t it? When we were starting out the van Haandels were building Prince. That would have cost them a squillion.

Matt: The customer has changed enormously in the last 11 years.

Andy: I blame MasterChef. Everyone’s a critic.

Matt: Standards have changed forever and they’re not going backwards. The same goes for renovations. No one knew how to renovate a house. Now everyone renovates, because everyone knows what’s good and bad. They’re all at home doing it themselves these days. The customer has changed, they know a lot about what they expect or demand. venue: Do you think the four of you mates will be in it together forever?

Andy: We love this industry, we love what we do, and we love our staff. It feels like a good space to be in at the moment and it feels like we’re doing the right things and having the right amount of fun in our work life But if it was over tomorrow, if for some reason that was it, we’d just move on to the next step.

CONTACTS Techne Architects: (03) 9600 0222 or info@techne.com.au Visual Builders: (03) 9533 5860 H&L (Point of Sale): (03) 9644 4666 or www.hlaustralia.com.au Eymac (Bars): (03) 9874 8800 or www.eymac.com.au RTR Productions (Audio): (03) 9381 0530 or www.rtrproductions.com.au Moorabin Cabinets (Joinery): (03) 9555 7571 1

Vogue Upholstery: 0412 356 535 Easy Blinds (Blinds and Awnings): 0419 334 837 Urbis (Planning Consultants): (03) 8663 4888 or www.urbis.com.au Retrospective Building Solutions (Building Surveying): (03) 9386 9796

2 Radium Lighting (Pendant Lighting): (03) 9401 3777 Ambience (LED Strips): (03) 9486 3699 Michael Seeley (Landscaping): 0412 207 577

59

“No one fights for restaurants that way. No one cares. Whereas a pub is a part of people’s lives”

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SOCIAL F DINING Consummate professionals, but first-time owners, Adam Cash and Nicky Reimer have finally got around to owning their own restaurant. A decade from inception, Union Dining is finally here, and the pair have been ‘tweeting’ about it ever since.

Union Dining: 270 Swan Street, Richmond VIC (03) 9428 2988 or info@uniondining.com.au Photography: James Grant

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CONTACTS Peckvonhartel: (03) 9934 7333 or www.pvh.com.au 1

JR Richardson (Bentwood Furniture): (03) 9428 1621 or www.jamesrichardson.com.au

2 Aeria (Battah Relief Tile): (03) 9690 9292 or info@aeria.com.au Olde English Tiles (Heritage Green Bevelled Edge Tile): (03) 9427 7677 or tiles@oeta.com.au Ital Ceramics (Heritage Green Pencil Tile): (03) 9387 5911 or www.italceramics.com.au Classic Ceramics (General Wall Tiles): (03) 9682 6555 or www.classicceramics.com.au Amerind (Timber Veneers): 1300 850 477 or www.amerind.com.au 3 Pelle Leathers (Upholstery Leather): 0438 585 750 or melissa@pelleleathers.com.au Bronzeworks (Bronze Finish): (03) 9427 7157 or info@bronzeworks.com.au 4 Schots (Warehouse Shades): 1300 693 693 or info@schots.com.au 5 Two Feathers (Customised Bar, Hessian & Wall Lights): contact@twofeathers.com.au

loor manager Adam Cash and chef Nicky Reimer have been plotting to join forces ever since they met at the Dockland’s Mecca Bah almost a decade ago. This was back when the Docklands was running rampant as Melbourne’s ‘Next Big Thing’ before everyone realised that being on the water was more Sydney’s shtick. But having just opened their first venture, the pair reflect on how watching first-time owners achieve success with Mecca Bah gave them the cojones to try it for themselves.

“We were there from when it was a cement slab and saw how it went for those owners,” said Nicky. “I was the head chef, Adam was employed as the manager. It was when the Docklands was at the forefront of media. Though that restaurant did the best out of all of them. We were watching other restaurants in the area go under, but we were booming.”

For two years, the pair worked under a trio of first-time owners, and found it to be inspiring stuff. “The staff were valued, people felt rewarded and there was a collaborative approach to management and the team,” said Adam. “We thought, ‘wow, this is what it should always be like’. It made us feel like we could do this.”

Nicky again: “They always had a very happy, healthy attitude even when it was incredibly busy and the pressures were hard. They showed us planning was important.”

Adam: “Policy, percentages and budgets. But it wasn’t all just figures. I remember seeing a business plan and there were almost no figures on the business plan. It was all conceptualisation and branding — what kind of experience they were looking to create.

They had fully realised what kind of place it was going to be before the doors had opened. And their staff could convey that information and knowledge.”

WAITING STATIONS Almost a decade may seem like an unduly long duration of time for two talented professionals to wait before starting their own business. But the two point out that there was a lot to do before then. Apart from meeting once a fortnight on their days off to build the business plan, Reimer made a conscious effort to build her own style as a chef instead of cooking other chef’s food. Then there was the ‘minor detail’ of needing to find a suitable venue.

The requirements were: it had to be a freehold, which took them outside the city arc; had to previously be a restaurant, to be able to build on an established infrastructure; and it had to have enough seats to be able to pay their debts back.

The pair has actually been through the process before. But it didn’t quite work out according to plan: “We rushed into it, we got a little excited,” said Reimer. “These people approached us to open a venue and unfortunately they weren’t the most cohesive group of owners. We moved on from that quite quickly.”

Now they have the right business partners in place, and surprisingly, found the venue quite quickly. Reimer again: “The search for the site was probably less than six months and we felt really lucky that we got this as quick as we did.”

BUILDING RAPPORT The site is Union House, a heritage-listed Victorian-style shopfront on Swan Street in Richmond. It’s the perfect place for a provincial European dining experience, and the pair has chosen well to bring designers Peckvonhartel on board. The building dates back to 1871, and Peckvonhartel touched lightly on Union House as well as keeping the internal archways that now help define a semi-private function area at one end.

Armed with Nicky’s scrapbook of pictures and ideas, the pair knew pretty well what they wanted: a bar that people could sit at comfortably, and eat dinner or have a drink; a banquette that could provide delineation of space as well as somewhere that would be comfortable to sit at; lots of activity in the tables and chairs so it

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felt busy but not crowded; a semi-industrial feel with tiling and wood — but traditional and not overly cold; and an open kitchen pass so people could see the kitchen but not be on top of it.

With a lot of preparation, they got what they wanted. Peckvonhartel has delivered on a design that draws inspiration from provincial Europe and Spanish tapas bars. Some of the highlights include the custom light fittings from Two Feathers, with its hessian rectangular shades and a long black, zincdipped H-beam fitted with downlights hanging over the bar. And a broad selection of tiles have been incorporated to embellish the room in a variety of cohesive heritage styles. The cabinetry looks purposefully handcrafted without relying on a faux finish, with chunky jars of Nicky’s colourful pickles on the shelves above the waiter’s stations. The bar features turned table legs, and the existing terracotta floor has been polished up and regrouted.

Not afraid to jump right in, Adam and Nicky elected themselves as contract administrators for the building process, meaning they not only had to get their heads around owning and operating a new business, but how to build it too.

“We’re not used to watching builders come in and work,” said Nicky. “And you’re not 100% sure how they move in a building and what’s a priority to them. Learning that was a bit scary.”

Union House used to be a Greek restaurant before Adam and Nicky bought the freehold. And although it helped having grease traps and other services, greasy deep fryers and spits weren’t going to suit Nicky’s developed style. “We looked at the equipment in there, and it was all terrible. It hadn’t been looked after and it was all more suited to a Greek restaurant — a huge spit, huge deep fryer, and a huge flat grill. That wasn’t going to suit what I needed to do with the food. It went on eBay and it was bought by a crazy Russian in the end.”

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ALL A TWITTER On top of the tasks of starting their own new business, and taking on the role of managing its construction, Adam and Nicky have also been forging ahead with some social media marketing. Both were quite doubtful at first — Adam didn’t even have a Facebook account — but have since taken a shining to the instant connection with their customers.

Adam: We started tweeting before the front doors opened.

Nicky: I remember taking a photo of the shell of the kitchen when there was nothing in it, just a rubbish bin. I took a picture and put it on Twitter… and then people responded to that. Before we knew it, we were taking a photo of the bar arriving, and put that on there.

Adam: We also did jokey things. We had a dinner around at Nicky’s house, took a photo of a frog in a pond dessert and jokingly posted that with, “Menu idea for Union Dining.” And I think that got more hits than anything else.

Nicky: We have a marketing and PR firm that are looking after all the outbound stuff but we respond to other people’s tweets. If somebody says, “We had a great dinner at Union Dining.” We’ll respond, “Hey thanks, great to hear.”

So we really try to keep that ball going and I’d say we have at least three or four new followers everyday without fail. That’s astounding to me because you read through who they are and what they’re doing and more often than not they’ll say they’re a foodie or a wine lover or they just love going out.

It’s great to see how many people are interested in restaurants and dining and all that kind of thing on Twitter. It’s amazing.

Adam: It surprised me that the demographic of our Twitter followers isn’t just the inner city hipster, but is quite broad.

Nicky: And we’ve even taken dinner reservations through Twitter. One person started calling it a ‘twooking’ instead of a booking.

I think it’s a great tool, but you have to devote time to it. Adam and I have put Tweetdeck on our laptops and we’ll check it and respond every day at the end of service. But if anyone was to ask us, “do you really need to do it?”

Then I’d say yes. It’s a valuable tool for marketing.

Twitter handle: @uniondining

5

“We’ve even taken dinner reservations through Twitter.

One person started calling it a ‘twooking’ instead of a booking”

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Schwank systems are highly energy efficient, have a short warm up time, offer comfortable and uniform heat distribution via ‘Whisper-Jet’ technology that ensures a longer flame within each tube. There are three different models to choose from, classed by their energy efficiency: calorSchwank — premium model, fully insulated heater with lower energy costs; infraSchwank — the benchmark in energy efficiency setting the industrial standard; and novoSchwank — the entry level heater.

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commercial edge

RIO Wall-mounted Self Closing Tap

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RBA is proud to introduce the new environmentally friendly RIO Wall-mounted Self Closing Tap. Robustly cast from heavy duty DZR Brass, then chrome plated to a polished finish, the single connection valve will deliver single temperature cold or pre mixed water. The RIO is both well-designed and practical, providing a clean, unobstructed environment, which is especially appreciated in very high traffic areas and for those who have disabilities. Adding to the environmentally friendly nature of our taps is a 6 Star WELS Rating. The vandal resistant body makes for a low maintenance, long lasting tap. A 2-year warranty is standard with all our tapware. We are proud of our association with Docol, our multi award winning manufacturing partner, which has focussed on sustainable design and growth for nearly 20 years. Excellence in technology, design, quality, and the environment is integral to the making of our self-closing taps. Our whole series of plumbing fixtures and bathroom accessories are highly durable, easily maintained and are always outstanding. We have a comprehensive range of options to accommodate all essential services from stainless steel toilets & taps, paper towel dispensers & waste receptacles, to sleek slim line hand dryers.

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SEAMLESSLY INTEGRATED ARCHITECTS, FACILITY MANAGERS & CONSULTANTS: You’re invited to this special half-day conference. venue in Partnership with InfoComm International is delighted to present ‘Communications Technology in the Built Environment’, a must-attend half-day conference.

The conference will focus on how to make information communication technology (ICT) work for you: • Making it Pay: Getting the best ROI from your communications technologies.

• Sustainability: Using ICT systems to improve your design’s energy rating.

• Client Satisfaction: Using ICT to exceed client expectations.

• Your Perspective: The entire ICT journey – from design, installation and operations – is tracked, all from the architect’s perspective.

• Your Next Job: Pertinent to entertainment venues and hotels, public and commercial buildings.

• Fully Integrated: This half-day session is being staged on the site of Integrate, Australia’s largest professional audiovisual and ICT exhibition.

Communications Technology in the Built Environment When: 30 Aug 2011, 10:30am – 1:30pm Where: Royal Hall of Industries, Moore Park, Sydney.

Tickets: www.integrate-expo.com (click on ‘Seminars’) Cost: $110 For more info contact Christopher Holder: chris@alchemedia.com.au or (03) 5331 4949

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WET and SWEAT are two registered trademarks of the W Hotel chain — charming as a Bintang singlet-wearing, dreadlocked inebriate, but never more applicable than when describing W’s hot new Bali resort. WET and SWEAT might be direct and a little tongue in cheek, but elsewhere the Bali branch of W views matters with its third eye: “would madam prefer the Sandy Zest or the Tropical Gleam villa?”

AB Concepts jumped right into Balinese spiritual-infused architectural techniques when designing the latest W. The Poleng three-tone pattern — symbolising good, evil and the space between — pops up on feature walls in mother of pearl. And stone walls block direct entry into the three-bedroom villa courtyards, helping deflect a mix of bad energies and spirits — also handy for deflecting confused bogan revellers hopped up on a mix of energy drinks and spirits. We jest, of course, Kuta may as well be a world away.

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Purchase a Full HD 103” Panasonic Plasma and claim

5 BONUS 50” HD Plasma Panels* To the Value : RRP $8,995.00

Limited offer available while stocks last Call Panasonic today on: 132 600 * Terms and conditions apply. Offer ends on the earlier of 31/08/11 or while stocks last.

Bonus 50” Plasma Panel Model No. TH-50PH20W. The offer is only available to ABN holders