Adored Fitzroy burger destination, Brother Burger and the Marvellous
Brew, has crossed the river opening on Melbourne’s iconic Chapel Street. The venue is Owned and operated by Marcelo Tummino who filled the industrial inspired space with pre-loved items he personally collected, and treasures won on eBay and unearthed while bush bashing around country sheds and paddocks.
The recycled materials complement the nostalgic ambiance of the venue, which boasts a receding courtyard entrance framed by New York loft-style windows, large red semi-circle leather booths, a wall panelled in deconstructed metal shelves, tennis court lighting and over 800 vintage meat grinders from Tummino’s personal archive. He has even sourced huge pendant lights all the way from the Newcastle Town Hall in NSW.
The existing café on the site, was the iconic Melbourne restaurant, Café Greco. Some of the leather booths from the existing fit out were retained, but had to restore them.
“It’s a large space, and we opened it up even further by opening and exposing the kitchen as well as stripping back some of the existing architectural features,” commented Marcelo. “The challenge was therefore to create a variety of different spaces within the space without resorting to walling and partitioning.
“When I create a space, first I design the space for it’s function, then I decide on the materials I will use. That becomes an opportunistic and pragmatic process because one aspect, which is central to my approach in the creation of all the cafes, bars and restaurants I’ve designed, is in the use of pre-loved materials.”
At Brother Burger South Yarra, almost all elements and materials were pre-used. Marcelo loves the texture and patina that develop over time and the natural wear that comes from use. Use softens an object’s appeal; it becomes more absorbing, evokes wonder and helps to engender the sense of familiarity in the space as a whole.
“However, I also wanted the space to feel as if it had been designed as a whole, rather than evolved over time,” he added. “I also wanted to use materials on mass, careful not to create clutter, or a menagerie effect, so my approach is quite architectural.”
Lighting has always been the part of the design process Marcelo finds most challenging. He always try and achieve a sense of no lighting, so that it supports the design as a whole, rather than becomes a feature in itself. Again, all the light fittings used at Brother Burger South Yarra had had a prior life, excepting for the LED strip lighting, which help highlight other features.
There are a range of cage lights throughout the venue all on dimmers. The most imposing lights are shaped like a Chinaman’s hat. These are huge, approx. 1,300mm diameter and made out of sheet metal. Marcelo found them in a metal recycler’s yard.
“I combined them by suspending 600mm dome up lights, which I found on eBay, and were, I was told, originally from the Newcastle Town Hall …. so two light fixtures became one.”
Marcelo’s antique hand grinders adorn the northern walls of the venue. Some are very old, dating back to the 19th century and were imported from New Jersey, USA. A now retired chandelier maker, who used grinders to make chandeliers, compiled them.
The opposite wall is lined with weather beaten Brownbuilt sheet metal shelves, which Marcelo sourced from Maryborough where they were once used by Lyle Eales Stores for their shop merchandise displays. They had been stored on pallets in a paddock for years. Dew and rain got in through the cling film they were wrapped in, the result is corrosion on the shelves surface making a wonderful effect.