2014 Gallery

Everything about Clever Little Tailor, an Adelaide laneway bar in a repurposed early-twentieth-century loading dock, is carefully considered and admirably consistent. From the handpainted gold lettering on the front door through to the meticulously crafted leather booths, painstakingly exposed bluestone and brickwork and the marble, parquetry and polished aluminium detailing, there is a seamless branding which gives the bar a strong sense of authenticity, as if it has been in the business of shaking cocktails for decades rather than months. It's a warm, inviting design, interestingly textured from the almost exclusive use of non-synthetic materials and the clever, flattering lighting that works equally well day and night. Better still, the design is timeless and doesn't read as age or demographic specific. Like the great bars of Europe, the split-level space can accommodate people of all ages in a mixture of partitioned and open seating zones with ease and elegance. It's a design that invites you in and makes you want to stay - surely the perfect combination for any hospitality space.

DESIGN STATEMENT

A repurposed 1900s loading dock with a ninety-square-metre split-level space was aesthetically promising but technically challenging. Stripping back the building revealed beautiful stacked bluestone walls and charming brickwork, this assisted in design decisions but made technical drawings difficult. An almost exclusive use of non-synthetic materials is evident throughout, marble, aniline leather, polished aluminium, exposed timber beams and parquetry flooring are all nods to timeless classics re-imagined for a modern audience. Floor-to-ceiling partitions and zoned seating allow patrons to enjoy their own private areas. From street level, the careful choice of lighting creates an inviting warmth that's hard to ignore.