2022 Eat Drink Design Awards: Best Bar Design

Jury comment

The jury members were impressed by the immersive, compelling and integrated experience that is the diminutive Music Room at Her, located in the new six-level venue on Lonsdale Street, Melbourne. In a first for the Eat Drink Design Awards, this space is a truly interactive experience, and it is magically shoehorned into an intimate volume no larger than the size of a double car space. Light, acoustics, music selection and visuals combine to create a unique experience for a small group of guests at any one time. The beautiful detailing riffs on the concept of the listener being contained entirely within a custom speaker box, and a conscious effort has been made to restrict the palette of materials. Timber, leather, brass accents and amber glass predominate, with the perforated, backlit timber selected for its acoustic properties. The result is uniquely Melbourne in character and unlike anything we have experienced elsewhere in Australia.

Design statement

Located on level one of Her, Music Room is a transformative music listening room. Accessed through a sound-locked room, it provides a supreme auditory experience where patrons can lounge, drink a focused selection of spirits and listen to premier DJs journey through the Her curated vinyl collection. The design concept captures the spirit of audiophile rooms and is dedicated to the love of sound. Consisting of a pre- dominantly timber composition, with accents of leather and brass, the timber was selected for its acoustic qualities. Perforations in the walnut ceiling and interior panels play an integral role in acoustic performance and lighting; backlit by thousands of LED lights that change colour and move in response to the music, they distort sightlines and make you feel like you’re stepping inside a speaker box. The acoustic qualities are so acute that the space can also be used for studio recordings.

Music Room is built on the land of the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung and Bunurong Boon Wurrung peoples of the Eastern Kulin nation.

Project credits

Project team Dion Hall, Mickey Levis (sound engineer), L’Observatoire International (lighting design)

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

The 2022 Eat Drink Design Awards are organized by Architecture Media and supported by principal partner James Richardson Furniture, major partner Blind Corner, supporting partners Roca, No Rock and Latitude, and event partner Stomping Ground.

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