Eureka Level 89 was designed as a premium hospitality venue, flexible enough to be able to host functions from one dozen guests to up to four hundred.

Located at the top of the Eureka Tower, and occupying a space originally designed for machinery and equipment, this project has arguably the best views of Melbourne, and possibly the lowest ceilings of any hospitality venue.

Maddison Architects’ ongoing client, Red Rock Leisure, briefed us to provide a self-contained function facility for up to 150 seated guests, with a full a la carte kitchen. A cocktail bar was to be provided with other separate divisible spaces for smaller groups.  City views were to be enhanced and capitalised on, as a pre-requisite. Flexibility was the key element in arranging spaces for this function facility. The client also demanded a memorable experience in the male and female rest rooms.

To achieve this brief, we provided spaces that could be closed off with folding wall panels or gold chainlink operable curtains. When open, these devices allow a seamless, united space. When closed, discrete intimate individual spaces. At one end of the floor plate (the city views) we have provided an open floor plate with one large, seamless, timber clad solid wall element. This element carries all the storage and back of house services. At the other end of the floor plate (facing Albert Park Lake) we provided a cantilevered stone bar, angling with the oblique geometry found in the building itself.

The toilets are located in the bay windows, and arranged such that patrons are forced hard against the floor to ceiling glass, and “step outside” the building to use the basin/urinals. The cubicles are expressed as egg-shaped transporters, much like the egg-nest scene from the movie “Alien”.

Vertical surfaces throughout are recessive (either charcoal or black) whether it be aluminium, glass or carpet. The dark colour materials don’t reflect in glass, and therefore don’t obscure the view. It’s all about the view.

The dominant feature is the perforated, acoustic metal ceiling, which is painted Ferrari red, and uplit with red neon. The pattern from this perforated ceiling is derived from the pattern of the floor plan itself. Red leather parallelogram wall cladding in either perforated or solid sheet wraps the walls to the cocktail bar. The parallelogram motif starts at the ground level VIP entry, and continues up to Level 89. The floorplan geometry is again represented in the gold motif in the carpet, where the sinewy outline is repeated and is spun to form rosettes, much like the children’s game of Spirograph.

All of the built-in furniture is custom designed in collaboration with Pomp Pty Ltd. The parallelogram geometry found in the furniture is consistent with other architectural elements. Gold leaf glass tables are interspersed with black glass and rich gold & crimson corduroy couches.

Steven Hennessy was engaged to create, in collaboration with Maddison Architects, a Swarovski, red LED lit chandelier over the cantilever bar.

Flexibility of this function facility has recently been demonstrated, as the client group is now running twelve-course degustation dinners in restaurant format, as an add-on to their normal function trade.

Level 89 has been embraced by Melbourne as a special event venue.