Sydney Fish Market
Inside a reimagined Sydney Fish Market, DS17 and Concreative crafted bespoke counters for three of its venues: Fish Market Café, Squid Inc and The Boatshed.
At Sydney Fish Market, traditional trade meets urban renewal. Since it was established in 1871, each of its relocations has reflected the effort to champion seafood as a feature of modern Australian life. In 1966, the market settled on the Pyrmont-Glebe waterfront, which is the site of its current premium upgrade. “Inside, we were first engaged to create counters for Fish Market Café and The Boatshed. Squid Inc was added along the way,” says Matthew Touma, director at Concreative. “Our approach to this third venue was very different from the first two. We were tasked with creating a sculptural counter facade, so we started with a custom basin mould. Each curve was crafted independently of the main structure and then we used one finish to unify the different pieces.” In contrast to the counters at Squid Inc, those at Fish Market Café speak to an industrial inspiration. The vertical surfaces are formed of highly textured concrete while on the horizontal planes the material is kept smooth – the result is a thoughtful balance of visual character and hygienic functionality.
Designed by DS17, The Boatshed was conceived as a new benchmark for Sydney dining, its refined interior complementing its view of the iconic Anzac Bridge. Its counters are thoughtfully coloured to maintain a sense of freshness amongst the deep blue tiling and orange glass racks. “For The Boatshed, there was a custom terrazzo sample that we had to match,” Touma explains. “Modern terrazzo is typically created using high-performance concrete. The aggregates are added and the colours of the stone are brought to life through grinding. It took a few attempts to get the aggregate content and the colours in the right place; the design had a lot of complex curves and we had to essentially 3D-model the entire bar to create individual pieces that would fit together.” Framing the seating area, the finished counters allow the design to be read as a coherent whole.
“Working across three projects at the same time was exciting; there was a lot of energy, a lot of buzz amongst the team because we knew that the work being done was both challenging and beautiful,” Touma says. “I hope that in Sydney Fish Market people can see that concrete can be more than the plain grey slabs that they’re used to. It can be one of the most dynamic material choices for the modern-day restaurant.”
