Brunetti

by Technē Architecture and Interior Design

Brunetti is a revamped inner-city emporium inspired by the Italy’s passion of food, wine and coffee.

Located in the historical setting of Flinders Lane in Melbourne, Brunetti has restyled the invention of modern eateries, to become a commanding venue, with multiple zones and spans over almost 850 square metres.

Connecting Collins Street to Flinders Lane, the ambition of this new emporium; which replaces Brunetti’s City Square venue, celebrates a new chapter in one of Melbourne’s most iconic eateries.

Technē Architecture + Interior Design have gone above and beyond in the creation of this new city emporium of food, wine and coffee, by accentuating a visual appeal and theatre of Italian interior design.

The design response for Brunetti, emphasises Italian interior design influences and materiality while providing a highly theatrical hospitality experience.

Customers can marvel at the freshly prepared pizza; which is cooked in a giant wood-fired oven suspended from the ceiling, and choose from an unprecedented range of bars, food areas and services. As well as the impressive array of biscuits, cakes and freshly churned gelato that Brunetti is known for.

This new interior design of this emporium, also features an onsite coffee roasting machine; with classes available for budding baristas; and a dedicated Campari bar offering antipasto, organic Italian wines and Aperol spritz.

The new space also features an all-weather alfresco coffee area and a horseshoe-shaped coffee bar serving espresso from two four-group La Marzocca machines, while a heritage bank vault in the basement has been converted into a private bar and dining area for guests.

Designer Nick Travers from Technē Architecture + Interior Design took inspiration from the modernist Italian design of the 1950s and 1960s in the creation of this space. Classic, but edgy enough to be modern and hip.

“Brunetti is an iconic institution and is quintessentially Italian. Its new Flinders Lane space presented an exciting opportunity to pay homage to some of the great hallmarks of Italian design. There were three key designers that we drew inspiration from: Ettore Sottsass, Carlo Scarpa and Angelo Mangiarotti,” Travers says.

Influenced by designers Ettore Sottsass, Carlo Scarpa and Angelo Mangiarotti, Technē Architecture + Interior Design created a solid volumetric form throughout each space, with geometries features, which contrast with lighter fine steelwork on facades and display cases.

Honouring the Italian tradition, there is a liberal use of terrazzo, marble and cut stone, with the design built up through blocks of contrasting materials. Designers also explored materials with textural contrast, juxtaposing refined and raw materials.

“We sought to explore materials with textural contrast, juxtaposing refined and raw materials,” says Anja Grant, senior interior designer at Technē Architecture + Interior Design.

These forms are articulated through contrasting materials–red figured marble against concrete, and brass against timber. With the predominant finish throughout the space being terrazzo, which is used on both floors and walls, tying the project to the material’s Italian roots

Photography by Earl Carter.

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