First introduced in 2012, Architecture Media’s Eat Drink Design Awards has been celebrating the best in hospitality design across Australia and New Zealand for the past 10 years. From high-end restaurants and bars to pop-ups and hole-in-the-wall cafes, the diversity of gastronomic experiences has impressed the juries over the years.
“The Awards are a crucial piece of the scaffolding that supports our great Australian food and wine industry,” reflected Jill Dupleix, food writer, awards ambassador and a juror of the inaugural awards in 2012.
“The first thing I remember thinking is, ‘What do I know about restaurant design?’ Then I realised that people like me, who have an almost visceral reaction to how a restaurant feels and works, are probably very relevant as judges,” she said.
“The best thing I learnt that year was how many people actually care deeply about both design and hospitality, about the inner workings, the dreams, and the romantic nature of dining as well as the technical side of achieving perfectly suited environments.”
The Dolphin Hotel by George Livissianis
Image:
Tom Ferguson
We asked Jill Dupleix to nominate some of her favourite venues from the winning and commended projects of the past decade. Here are seven of her most memorable projects:
- Pink Moon Saloon by Sans Arc Studio, a “simultaneously audaciously ambitious and modest” venue that occupies a former rubbish bin alley in Adelaide. Pink Moon Saloon was named Best Bar Design in 2016.
- The Dolphin Hotel by George Livissianis, an “anarchic and cogent bar interior that balances diametric opposites in exquisite tension.” The venues was the winner of Best Bar Design in 2017.
- Agnes by Amok, a venue that harmoniously marries its refined palette with historical fabric of the 19th century warehouse it sits in. Agnes was awarded Best Restaurant Design in 2021.
- Lune Croissanterie by Studio Esteta, winner of Best Retail Design in 2016, which one juror referred to as the “Apple Store of croissants.”
- Abbots & Kinney by Studio Gram, winner of Best Cafe Design in 2015, which the jury described as “a poster child for excellence in craftsmanship.”
- Bar Di Stasio by Robert Simeoni Architects in collaboration with Callum Morton and David Pidgeon, which received a commendation for Best Bar Design in 2013.
- Ester by Anthony Gill Architects, which received a commendation for Best Restaurant Design in 2014.
Lune Croissanterie by Studio Esteta
Image:
Tom Blachford
“I think the Awards help us define who we are as Australians,” Dupleix said. “There’s an increasing use of the Australian vernacular, as there is in the way we engage with food, and it’s only through being true to our time and place that we own who we are.”
Eat Drink Design Awards is organized by Architecture Media, publisher of Artichoke magazine and ArchitectureAU.com. The 2022 awards is supported by Latitude, Roca, and Norock.
Entries to the 2022 Eat Drink Design Awards have been extended until 29 July.
Source: Architecture - architectureau
