Zurich-Lot 59 Where old meets new

A design that is integrated with the surrounding rural landscape, this project aims to at once honour and revitalise the towns sense of community and wonder. The existing shed has been repurposed to accomodate a contemporary take on the cinema experience - a once loved past-time of the town.

Telescoping out from a gallery space showing moving image projections by some of Australias most well-known artists, a café acts as oculus -  framing and acting as a welcoming foreground. The dark and atmospheric space is clad in stark industrial materials and accompanied by low-lighting accents to provide a sense of drama, whilst allowing the moving image artworks to be viewed at museum-standard quality.

The space is complimented by custom designed and crafted utilitarian seating. Providing a warmth, this is a space that invites one to sit and linger, to watch, converse and enjoy a unique art experience.

After being originally being engaged in an architectural capacity, Favre Design Studio also developed café furniture for the site. The client's brief called for crate style furniture that was utilitarian and highly functional. It was also fundamental that the design and materials were robust to withstand the wear and tear of public use.

Every aspect is about function rather than decorative detailing; the slot detail that differentiates from a crate, a break in the solid flat sides, exists as a functional tie-point for the seat pad.

The materiality for the furniture was sourced from 3RT, a company who innovate sustainable timber technology. Low value plantation resources are engineered into premium hardwoods with the appearance and quality of 100-year old trees. The technology uses robotics and a patented process to biomic the nature's structure of a native tree in hours. A water-based formaldehyde-free “Nano-glue” binds woodchip in a similar way to real trees. The process allows for the creation of high-quality, low-carbon and toxin free materials, whilst reducing native forest depletion.