![Tank Bar + Restaurant / Donovan Hill - Image 1 of 13](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5013/eac0/28ba/0d3b/4500/051f/newsletter/stringio.jpg?1414575971)
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Architects: Donovan Hill
- Area: 100 m²
- Year: 2010
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Photographs:Shantanu Starick
Text description provided by the architects. Positioned within a laneway and adjacent to the building lobby, the entrance is pedestrian and intimate.
The scheme was not without risks, requirements for a fine dine restaurant within a relatively small and idiosyncratic footprint could have easily resulted in a compromised and cluttered space.
![Tank Bar + Restaurant / Donovan Hill - Table, Chair](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5013/eac6/28ba/0d3b/4500/0521/newsletter/stringio.jpg?1414575984)
Lengthy investigations revealed a single plausible layout which, although logical in its inception is unconventional in nature. Repeated role playing of the patron’s experiential journey was key to dealing with planning eccentricities.
![Tank Bar + Restaurant / Donovan Hill - Table, Chair, Beam](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5013/eac3/28ba/0d3b/4500/0520/medium_jpg/stringio.jpg?1414575981)
A comfortable and accommodating dining room was vital to the success of the restaurant. Borrowing from the material palette in the adjacent lobby infers a single territory and from the patrons’ experience, seems to extend the dining room beyond its actual boundaries.
![Tank Bar + Restaurant / Donovan Hill - Table, Chair](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5013/eacb/28ba/0d3b/4500/0523/newsletter/stringio.jpg?1414575987)
Comfort, views and acoustics have been carefully considered to address the tapering plan and create a different experience for each diner. A central table, divides and defines the dining room while acting as a service point. Fenestration of the windows by timber battens and a low timber bulkhead over the window area provides protection for diners against the openings. Deeper into the sequence, a final, smaller space operates as a private dining room when required.
![](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5013/eadc/28ba/0d3b/4500/0529/newsletter/stringio.jpg?1414576003)