2015 Gallery
Winner: Best Restaurant Design
Matt Woods Design for Beccafico
New South Wales
Originally conceptualised & documented in late 2013, the project brief called for a modern Italian restaurant that drew influence from beach side architecture & classic Scandinavian design. While not obvious bedfellows, the final result is a raw & minimalist interior that ignores the whims of trend & the potential clichés
Jury Citation
Designer Matt Woods has responded with accomplished clarity to a complex brief, melding modern Italian food, casual beachside architecture and a classic Scandinavian aesthetic. Aided perhaps by the relative neutrality of the new Casba complex in Waterloo by Billard Leece Partnership & SJB Architects in which it is located, the interior was built up layer upon layer and the result is one of confidence and ease. Theres an approachability to the unfinished joinery of recycled and fire-charred hardwoods, a sculptural beauty to the circular neon tubes that line the walls, a resort-like feel to the slatted boardwalk that bisects the space with wire-brushed timber banquets to the side, and even the selection of plants in ceramic pots is just the right side of quirky. In many ways, Beccafico is the perfect embodiment of a relaxed but refined dining environment and an interior in which one could imagine spending many fine hours.
