sons of mary

SONS OF MARY

Sons of Mary is a new 140 seat lounge bar and café set within a mid twentieth century brick, steel and concrete commercial building. The original building brief must surely have called for robustness and strength, as it sits behind the lineality of Gardendale train station tracks, and bears witness to the many trains thundering past heavily laden with commuters.  The honesty and raw character of the existing steel and concrete structure and the generosity of the existing mid-twentieth century commercial space is maintained and enhanced by the new insertions and the staging of a variety of different hospitality experiences.

The brick façade is opened up with lift-up steel windows to allow inviting views into the café and an interactive relationship with the life of the street. A window-seating bench inside the windows for casual dining and people watching.

A timber lined entry portal leads into an entry area decorative screen. High bench seating and the generously sized food and drink service bar complete the façade window zone. Deeper inside the space, lounge seating and a wood burning open fire are located on axis with the entry, visible through the entry screen. Well lit dining areas close to the façade appeal to casual diners and coffee drinkers and darker more atmospheric areas further from the façade allow an intimate dining experience.

• Location; Brighton, Victoria
• Site Area; 350m2
• Photographer; mcmahon and nerlich
• Year; 2015