Press kit - Press release - Hell of the North - SMLWRLD

Hell of the North

Melbourne, Australia

SMLWRLD

Commercial Interior Design, Gastronomy, Restaurant + Bar

Melbourne, Australia, 2012-05-23 –

The Paris-Roubaix is a one-day, 260km cycling event in the north of France ridden mostly over bluestone cobbles, it is known as The Hell of the North for obvious reasons. With Parisian bistro references and plenty of historic Melbourne bluestone, the new Hell of the North has been crafted into and around an original 19th century hotel on the threshold of Fitzroy and Collingwood.

In close collaboration with clients Adam Ferrante (Rose St Artists Market) and Mark Grixti (The European / Supper Club) architects SMLWRLD set out to discover a new relationship between the dining spaces and what is consumed within them. This search lead to the image of a French wine press, a rough crucible refining valuable contents, an inspiration that translated into detailed timber expressions of gentle force, careful layering of colour and depth of texture. . Material choices focused on the combined warmth of timber and burnished brass, elsewhere blackened steel indicates structural changes made in the spirit of a Victorian industrial history. Woven through the network of intimate and connected dining spaces, blue surfaces create a circling moat that separates old from new, privileging the history of this unique Melbourne building.

During the design and construction, project managed by Ferrante himself, many forms of collaboration were undertaken , and builders Qube Construction worked intensively with the existing building to bring out the character and history of the site. From local handmade lighting by Volker Haug to graphic designers Urchin Associates, who even developed the labels for Hell’s signature Margaret River wines ‘Roubaix’, the project has created several new layers of history on an iconic Fitzroy site.

SMLWRLD is architect Lucas Chirnside and artist Bianca Looney, this cross disciplinary studio is dedicated to the research, development and production of forward thinking urban, interior and architectural spaces using the principle of multiple scales and fostering collaboration with other design disciplines.

SMLWRLD
SMLWRLD is architect Lucas Chirnside and artist Bianca Looney, this cross disciplinary studio is dedicated to the research, development and production of forward thinking urban, interior and architectural spaces using the principle of multiple scales and fostering collaboration with other design disciplines. SMLWRLD also engages in planning local and international workshops, exhibitions, urban interventions and open space strategies. Recently completed projects are Hell of the North bar/bistro, award winning integrated urban sculptures including Terrain Generator and Zoetrope Bridge, limited edition products including Arete Lamp (IDEA award 2008) and Polytopia seating system (finalist 2010 Designs of the year, Design Museum London). Bianca and Lucas have recently returned from an Asialink artists residency in Tokyo at the beginning of 2012 and are currently undertaking commissions in Australia and Japan.

Project Team (for this project)
LUCAS CHIRNSIDE
BIANCA LOONEY
ALBERT CHANDRA
KIERON MEAGHER
Builder
QUBE CONSTRUCTION
Engineer
COULTHARD SHIM PTY LTD
Project Manager
ADAM FERRANTE
Lighting
ARTEMIDE, VOLKER HAUG
Sculpture
MACRAME POT PLANT HANGER BY SARAH PARKES
Project name
HELL OF THE NORTH
Project completion date
JAN 2012
Project type
HOSPITALITY
Full address of project
135 GREEVES ST, FITZROY 3065
Owner’s name
ADAM FERRANTE
Phone
+61(0)3 9417 6660
Photographer
PETER BENNETTS
Phone
+61 412 568 181
Email
[email protected]