180 PORTFOLIOINDESIGN
WORDS STEPHEN CRAFTI PHOTOGRAPHY GEORGE APOSTILIDIS ARCHITECT BATES SMART LOCATION MELBOURNE I AUS PRO.JECT SHO NOODLE BAR
INFLUENCED BY THE ORIENT, THIS NOODLE BAR HAS AFEW TRICKS UP ITS SLEEVE he Crown Casino in Melbourne is undergoing a complete makeover by Bates Smart. Lobbies are being refurbished and suites redesigned . Included in this renovation is a new restaurant, 'Sho Noodle Bar'. Accessed via the main gaming floor in the casino, Sho offers punters the opportunity to relax in style. "We wanted to create a veil from the machines and gaming tables. But we also wanted to create a level of connectivity," says Interior Designer Kathryn Lombard, Associate with Bates Smart, who worked closely with Bates Smart's Interior Design Director Jeffery Copolov. Framed with black steel and screen printed rose coloured glass, Sho Noodle Bar has a strong Asian theme. Bamboo leaves appear on the glass and gold mirrored tiles feature at reception . Gold also features on the banquette seating in the restaurant, as well as on shelves behind the bar. Pink and orange also forms part of the colour palette. "Our brief included an interior that was light and reflective, but also colours that were evocative of Asia,'' says Lombard. While the reflective reception counter attracts people to the restaurant, feature walls framing the kitchen draw guests into the space. Reminiscent of an antique
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TOP The
"open· kitchen provides entertainment on a backdrop of red. snakeskin-like tiles
tea shop, stained American oak joinery includes drawers and shelves displaying glass canisters filled with tea. Walter Wagner, the Executive General Manager of Food and Beverages for Crown, selected the unusual vintage tea pots on his travels to Asia. "We wanted to give the interior a taste of the orient. Tea is also an important part of the menu," says Lombard. The interior details ofSho are exquisite. One of the walls is covered in floral patchwork, each petal laser cut. And to keep sight lines open, Bates Smart designed two screens resembling a giant abacus. Made from American oak, the screens create a division in the space: one area being for more formal dining (although Sho is far from formal), while the central area caters for more informal dining. The area closest to the gaming tables is like a lounge, with club-style chairs and tables . Featuring an 'open' kitchen, the food and activities of the chefs are a source of entertainment. In the background, a t iled red wall in the kitchen is like snake skin. "Our clients wanted the kitchen to have a sense of theatricality," says Lombard. "We did a lot of prototyping for Sho. Everything had to be custom made,'' says Lombard, pointing out the glass cases displaying the vast range of teas. Two tea mountains perched on the restaurant's bar are, according to Feng Shui principles, sources of good luck. And mesh chandeliers activate the space as air circulates. "It was quite a challenging brief. We wanted to use the best materials, but we were also conscious of function. It had to be fairly robust," says Lombard.
Stephen Crafti is Indesign's Melbourne correspondent.
INDESIGN
SHO NOODLE BAR Bates Smart Jeffery Copolov. Kathryn Lombard. Tania d1LIZIO. Roberta Tessarolo. Robert Campagnino BUILDER Schiavello KITCHEN DESIGN VaSCO DlmitriOS GRAPHIC DESIGN FabiO Ongarato Des1gn DESIGN
DESIGN TEAM
BATES SMART (61 3) 8664 6200
batessmart.com au "Pearl" bar stool from Zuster ·smile" armcha1r by Andreu World from Living Edge "Tulip" table base with custom top from Osins Furniture ·carved Tub" cha1r. ·cousins· table and Amencan Oak coffee table from Temperature Design FURNITURE
FINISHES Stone bar from Cairns Marble and gran1te from Melocco Stone ·snake" tiles to back wall of kitchen from Hynes Tiles Ceramic t1le mosa1c from Academy Tiles and Steel and brass mosa1c from Alloy Metal T1les Floorboards from Market Timbers
Academy Tiles (61 2) 9436 3566 academyt 1les com au Alloy Metal Tiles (61 2) 9565 2422 alloydesign com au Cairns Marble Australia (61 7) 4035 2211 ca1rnsmarble com Hynes Tiles thet1lepeople com au Living Edge (61 3) 9009 3940 l1v1ngedge com au Market Timbers (61 3) 9314 9999 sales@ markettlmbers com Melocco Stone (61 3) 9546 0211 melocco com au Osiris Furniture (61 3) 9749 4700 os1nsfurn1ture com au Temperature Design (613) 9419 1447 temperaturedesign com au Zuster (61 3) 9427 7188 zuster com au