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Architects: TILT Industrial Design
- Year: 2016
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Photographs:John Gollings
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Manufacturers: Hilti
Text description provided by the architects. Almost four years after a fire tore through the popular foreshore venue, Stokehouse, St Kilda is again abuzz thanks to the restaurant’s iconic new design.
Sydney Industrial Design studio, TILT Industrial Design, collaborated with Robert Simeoni Architects and owners, the Van Haandel Group, to reimagine the new Stokehouse’s exterior.
The restaurant has a fresh new look, and sits just a few metres from one of Melbourne's most famous beaches.
The building doesn’t try to imitate its predecessor. Instead, it pays homage to the beachside jetty, with a blackened timber-clad façade.
Raw elements such as leather, concrete and brick connect the building to the nearby man-made sand dunes. The dunes conceal the ground floor from street level, giving Stokehouse, on the top floor, the illusion of floating.
The new precinct also houses casual bar and grill Pontoon, and fish-and-chip kiosk Paper Fish.
TILT undertook the façade design, manufacturing and installation process. The façade is a series of operable, horizontally bi-folding screens located outside the restaurant’s windows. The screens provide protection from the sun, and can be raised to reveal beautiful bay views.
The coastal location is a demanding environment for mechanical structures. Marine grade stainless steel was used for the façade’s fabricated structural elements – paramount for longevity and reliable performance.
The operable screens have significantly added to the building’s aesthetic, while providing additional comfort for patrons – a combination resulting in a great design and commercial outcome.
