2023 Eat Drink Design Awards: Best Bar Design

Jury comment

Dolly stands as a testament to innovative design in the hospitality sector. The tactile wine bar, which is located in suburban Adelaide, boasts a distinctive and timeless ambiance. The project’s creative vision revolved around transforming the existing space into an experiential haven for locals. Through the design team’s embrace of the cold-shell surroundings – and a progressive design brief – Dolly has emerged as a compelling oasis. Central to Dolly’s success is its meticulous attention to detail. Its iconic glazed corner frontage was harnessed to craft an entrancing curtain that defines different dining zones. The striking in-situ formed concrete bar, meticulously prototyped, presents an impressive yet inviting centrepiece, complete with a bespoke, textured finish. A strategic interplay of local materials, natural and artificial lights, custom artworks and subtle colour harmonies creates a dynamic atmosphere that transforms this hospitality venue from day to night.

Design statement

Dolly is an immersive wine bar that offers something interesting and unseen to all friends of food and drink. The design brief was to create a unique and timeless wine bar for the residents of Unley. The combination of the existing cold-shell and design brief gave us a futurist approach to the project, creating something absorbing and intriguing. The street presence of the existing glazed corner frontage prompted an iconic bar space. The original chamfered entry was embraced to create an alluring curtain entry that is used to divide the front areas into functions and hidden booth seating. The bar and kitchen proportions were critically massaged to make staff workflows and sightlines intrinsic to the design. Prototyping the bar was key to achieving the in-situ profile, undulated edge detailing and textural ripple that produced a monolithic form with a raw, acid-washed finish. The bar top contrasts the form with a smooth burnish for ease of service.

Dolly is built on Kaurna Country.

Project credits

Designer Genesin Studio Project Team Ryan Genesin, Lia van Dalen

See the full gallery of winning and commended projects on the Eat Drink Design Awards website.

The Eat Drink Design Awards are organized by Architecture Media (publisher of ArchitectureAU). The 2023 awards’ supporting partners are Roca and Latitude.

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