Image Credit : Rohan Thomson
Project Overview
Miss Vans, inspired by traditional Vietnamese 'Eating Houses' is a restaurant and bar, honouring age-old recipes in a nostalgic and reminiscent setting. The interiors are an eclectic homage to French-Vietnamese colonial architecture, a common sight found in cities such as Ho Chi Minh or ‘Old Saigon’.
Project Commissioner
Project Creator
Team
Lead Interior Designer: Sophie Metcalfe
Interior Designer: Emily Florencia
Account Director / Project Manager: Eleena Tan
Creative Director: Michael Paul Tan
Project Brief
BrandWorks were engaged by client Andrew Duong (formerly Baby Su and Lazy Su), to embark on the end to end branding and interior design of a space that honoured the authentic food from his upbringing in rural Laos and Vietnam
A nod to the French-Vietnamese colonial architecture of Ho Chi Minh or ‘Old Saigon', Miss Vans features high ceilings with suspended tropical greenery, overhead fans, tiled flooring, antiqued mirrors and lattice arches. The facade has been designed to mimic that of the streetscape, engraved timbers, awnings and mock windows all come together to help patrons escape the city hustle and bustle.
There are two entryways to this site which pose a challenge for defining seating and circulation. The team opted to anchor the seating with a central banquette, which allowed for a relaxed open plan closer to the bifold line. This then created a strong circulation corridor which allows for easy traffic during busy lunch periods.
Project Innovation/Need
The colour palette has been influenced by the food offering with lush herb tones, vibrant chilli reds and spiced mustards. The finishes themselves have been carefully chosen to evoke feelings of old world nostalgia with distressed paintwork and aged surfaces. Antique inspired encaustic tiles were shipped from Jatana Interiors up in Byron Bay as they stocked the exact tone we needed to complement the vibrant reds used throughout the space.
Our senior designer worked directly with the team at Emily Ziz to customise two different floral upholsteries that can be seen eclectically peppered around the space. Both the banquette and custom furniture have been upholstered in this design.
The existing brick was painted and sandblasted to reveal a green datum line that looks as if it's been weathered down over time. Tasmanian Oak is the chosen timber for it's warm and contemporary aesthetic. The entire internal facade has been custom fabricated to mimic a vintage shop front, and all joinery has been fabricated to match. The front bar and back bar tiling is a complementive fish scale from Perini tiles and all powder coating has been specified to match.
Design Challenge
The main internal facade faces a bright and clinical looking shopping centre. We wanted to really allow the diners to transcend into the world of Miss Vans so wanted to ensure this facade was designed as theatrically as possible, allowing a strong and exciting visual externally, but also closing off the garish site to the diners inside.
It was imperative that we utilised the outdoor area to its full potential. The site was handed to us with a step down which split the entire outdoor seating area in half and rendered it almost useless. We demolished the original perimeter and constructed a plinth which allowed us to make a flush decking across the entire space. The result is an area with prized outdoor bar seating which allows our client to seat people on the window line at cocktail hour. Placing patrons outside here creates theatre and enticing activation.
Sustainability
All finishes have been locally sourced where possible and the existing brick walls have been repurposed and brought to life with a light lick of paint and sandblasting, doing away with the need for new wall surfaces.
Interior Design - Hospitality - Casual
This award celebrates innovative and creative building interiors where people eat and drink - this includes bars, restaurants, cafes and clubs. Judging consideration is given to space creation and planning, furnishings, finishes, aesthetic presentation and functionality. Consideration also given to space allocation, traffic flow, building services, lighting, fixtures, flooring, colours, furnishings and surface finishes.
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