KP Architects Blog

Scott Burrows recently visited Brisbane’s CBD to photograph the newly completed Rush. Check out the fantastic results below.

The café formerly known as Ascot Provisions has had a complete overhaul! With a new chef and branding, KP Architects has helped the café owners create a fresh and inviting atmosphere to match the new Zesty name and menu!

Inspired to create a garden oasis away from the bustle of Racecourse Road, an open pergola was conceived with a cost effective green wall  screening the alfresco dining area to the road.

Black bench seating contrasts with the crisp white pergola and colourful citrus inspired scatter cushions and feature seating complete the ‘fresh’ atmosphere. The colour palette is continued into the café, where a ‘mum’s kitchen’ environment has been created with flower filled vases and wall hung flying ducks.

While the construction phase stirred much attention with the locals, we feel the end product is sure to get everyone excited and now sets a new benchmark for the Racecourse Road dining experience!

Construction of the new Altro and Zinc Bar at the Nambour RSL is now complete. The overall aesthetic sought was an honest, rich, unpretentious authenticity with a modern twist – a contemporary café and bar that exuded warmth and style.

The client wanted the venue to have a ‘pub’ feel to the bar and the café to have a European edge to it. When customers approach the new addition from the outside they are greeted by a modern building form made up of a combination of natural honest materials – timber, brick and metal cladding to reflect copper. These materials are then replicated internally so inside and outside are seamlessly connected.

Once inside, customers approach the new café and its large portal windows which are to be reminiscent of windows of a building facing a cobble street. The ‘street’ that leads you to other parts of the club is lined in natural stone ‘travertine’ to reflect the old, narrow cobble stone streets of Europe. From this ‘street’ patrons can view through to the café diners beyond, getting glimpses rather than full view vision. These portals / windows create intimacy and enclosure for café customers when dining and looking out to the ‘street’ and patrons beyond.

The new venue is broken up into a variety of dining and drinking experiences and settings. The café mirrors a European café with rich colours, natural stone bench tops, timber floors and chairs.  The space is intimate but is fresh and exciting, something that is demonstrated in the food concept.

A green wall that forms a back drop to the café offers a splash of colour and natural greenery that almost feels as if you are sitting in a courtyard. Food is the hero, with the kitchen and cold display designed in a way to tempt customers to sit and enjoy the food. This also brings energy and atmosphere to the café and diners and patrons beyond in the ‘street’.

Adjacent to the café is the lounge and bar. Upon entry to the bar through the timber portal, a marble and zinc bar is located on the right. This bar exerts solidity and has a strong presence in the room. A black ‘crocodile’ tile wall forms a dynamic back drop to this space.  Again, natural honest materials are combined to form a warm and comfortable space to enjoy a drink. The space is broken down to create smaller, more intimate spaces by introducing a central 2 way fireplace and a high communal dry bar. The fireplace not only divides the spaces but also introduces the external face brick work into the interior.

A key aspect to the bar / lounge design was to create a space that will age well over time, and feels warm and inviting during the day and night with a strong connection to the outside. This has again been achieved by blending honest finishes – marble, zinc, face brick, stone tiles and timber. These materials weather naturally and date gracefully. When enjoying the bar space during the day, filtered natural light fills the space. At night, carefully selected accent lighting creates an ambient mood setting.

Stacking doors slide back to introduce the outdoor. Large potted trees allow patrons to sit at the fixed mosaic dry bar and enjoy the mountain range to the east from an elevated position. The tall vaulted timber lined box that encloses the deck also frames the views that can be enjoyed not only from the deck, but from deep inside the bar’s interior.

Littlenooks are also integrated beside the bar where smaller groups of two can sit comfortably away from the busier open spaces. The new venue becomes a series of different spaces and experiences which are carefully brought together by a palette of honest materials.

Last night was the official opening of Rush in the city. It was a great night celebrating what has been a long and amazing journey that started way back in late 2009.

Natalie (who unfortunately could not be here as she is away in New York on long service leave) designed the venue while working closely with clients Mounir Ibrahim and Elias Philipou for two years, which included a six month fitout, to realise the project. We wish them all the best and great success with the ‘new’ Rush.

P.S. Check out the Rush website (http://rushcbd.com.au) if you’d like to find out more or to book a Christmas lunch or dinner get together.

The refurbishment of the Exchange Hotel in Brisbane’s CBD is almost complete. Heading into the busy Christmas trade, our client, Independent Pub Group, saw the need for a minor refresh of the venue which they acquired this year. Our brief was to review each of the bars and lounge spaces while working with, and maintaining, the existing architectural elements.

As you can see from the ‘before and after’ photographs below, an inexpensive and quick approach was applied. Our design method was to reduce the intensity of the existing ‘red’ interior palette without disrupting the sense of intimacy. The new interior palette offers a classic yet contemporary design edge through the use of the black, white and green details, natural timbers and feature wallpaper and lighting.

After many months working closely with Rubicon during the design and construction phase, the Zinc Bar and Altro Restaurant addition to the Nambour RSL opened to the public in late August.

Read about it in the latest Clubs Queensland magazine, Club Insight, as pictured below. More photos to come in later postings on our blog.