Situated in the heart of Springvale, Melbourne, Cultural Commons is a restaurant cafe offering that explores different experiences in the one open plan space. Owners wanted guests to feel immediately at home on entrance of the space. Studio Equator managed to create a neutral flow to the restaurant where both casual catch ups can mingle over coffee and casual diners with a more personal experience in the same spot.
Studio Equator started from scratch with this brand, working closely with the clients, they created a complete visual identity and interior design. Firstly, the name gives to the overall brand, a common space for all to meet and enjoy. On entrance of the space, you can instantly grasp the concept as you notice the open plan venue includes three obvious offerings. The centre of the venue has large timber picnic style tables and custom designed pendant light fittings over the tables, held together with fake grass under your feet. The idea of this space is to bring people together for a casual lunch, quick coffee and catch up session. The picnic tables work in with the communal Frankenstein upscaled table, custom designed and produced by Studio Equator (becoming a popular signature piece).
Surrounding the first experiential space is the banquet tables along the perimeter of the venue. The banquet tables have a more lounge/dining experience for small groups to enjoy a personal dinner. The banquets are framed off to isolate the space using OSB board for texture, timber beams and clustered pendant lights overhanging. Each banquet space feels private, personal and lounge like, to finish off another experience in Cultural Commons.
The most outstanding element of the interior design for this space is the wall art. Graffiti art covers the wall behind the banquet tables, which is then separated by vertical gardens. The graffiti art is a bright and colourful interpretation of birds and greenery working perfectly in
with the green vertical gardens. The art was painted by a Studio Equator favourite, collaborator Makatron. Makatron is no stranger to Studio Equator having produced numerous stunning artist impression works for them in the past. He has a distinctive style and attention to detail with strong knowledge of colour and texture, showcased throughout the graffiti art in Cultural Commons. Makatron also hand painted the artwork on the pendant lights that overhang the picnic table. He used the same colours and theme as he did on the walls making the pendant lights blend in with the theme, brand and style of the interior design.
The bar area finishes off the space. Studio Equator used OSB board for texture and timber for framing, the counter features a pixelated pattern of black and white tiling creating a waterfall feature blending into the floor tiles at the counter.
The visual identity extends from the business cards through to the store front signage. Studio Equator took an eclectic approach to the visual identity, using a hexagon pattern work surrounding the logo and featured on the facade of the venue. The colours of the brand work in with the interior, black and white for the logo and blue, yellow and pink for the background, the colours of the graffiti art were an inspiration to the colour scheme of the branding.
Having numerous custom designed features and splashes of vibrant colour across the walls from Melbourne based graffiti artist, the designers succeeded overall in creating an open plan space that works in different moods and offerings, allowing Cultural Commons guests to experience different personalities to the space and take in the brands warmth in a suburb of Melbourne that holds a lot of culture, colour and life.