2020 Eat Drink Design Awards: Best Installation Design

Jury comment

Jock Zonfrillo’s lauded Adelaide fine diner Restaurant Orana was vividly recreated and reinterpreted for this month-long “pop-up” residency in Sydney’s Surry Hills. The result was especially impressive considering the limited time and scope to change the original warehouse building, which was previously the site of Thai canteen Longrain. The jury loved the clear connection between the installation design and the 24-course menu showcasing native ingredients. Using Australia’s flora and fauna as inspiration, every detail was innovatively created to fit the earthy aesthetic of sand and grass, from handmade serving dishes and glassware, to custom-made waiters’ outfits, including shoes. Particularly moving was a show-stopping sculpture of Indigenous flowers made by artist Tracey Deep. The living floral garden hung spectacularly from the roof, offering a poetic representation of the short lifespan of the space. The ephemeral nature of the project made Orana in Residence all the more special.

Design statement

Chef Jock Zonfrillo champions native ingredients, translating Indigenous gathering and cooking techniques into fine-dining experiences. With Orana in Residence, a Sydney pop-up of Adelaide’s renowned Restaurant Orana, a lush and sensory fitout was conceived to foster an intimate dining experience celebrating an approach to food that is unique and specific. The primary goal of the Sydney pop-up was to raise broader awareness of the activities of the not-for-profit Orana Foundation, which supports Indigenous communities in the research, documentation and commercialization of native foods and their demand. Orana worked with elders from the Eora nation to forage and source produce locally, right down to bark from local paperbark street trees! To acknowledge the specificity of the location, an approach was adopted to bring the natural landscape in, so that the ancient sand dunes, sandstone outcrops, banksia trees and wetland systems that once lay beneath contemporary Surry Hills might make their way back into the minds of Orana diners. In collaboration with plant sculptor Tracey Deep, the key visual element of the interior became the huge native floral installations that drape throughout the dining spaces, casting moody shadows and bringing the unique smell of Australian flora to the experience.

Orana in Residence
85 Commonwealth Street
Surry Hills, New South Wales
restaurantorana.com

SJB with Orana, Promena Projects and Tracey Deep

SJB
Level 2 490 Crown Street
Surry Hills, New South Wales sjb.com.au

Project team
Adam Haddow, Victoria Judge, Simone Rego.

See the whole gallery of images at the Eat Drink Design Awards website.

The 2020 Eat Drink Design Awards are organized by Architecture Media and supported by supporting partners Chandon Australia, Latitude and Roca.

The Eat Drink Design Awards are endorsed by the Australian Institute of Architects and the Design Institute of Australia.