Good design is everywhere – and few projects make the case as convincingly as Moby’s Whale Beach. The latest hospitality project by Pattern Studio sits within one of the Northern Beaches’ most popular cultural centers, the Whale Beach Surf Life Saving Club, and rewrites what the SLSC restaurant can be. It’s the kind of place that’s upscale without being intimidating, special without being precious – designed for a nonna at Sunday lunch, a wedding party at sunset, and a teenager waiting in the south, all at the same time.
If you’ve been around one fashion publication for any length of time, you’ll know that The Pattern Studio is firmly in my race of favorite Australian patterns. Since their first feature on the property back in 2018, Lily Goodwin and Josh Cain have produced some of the most highly regarded hospitality and retail spaces in the country. Moby’s – their second collaboration with Brett Conway’s Merci Group, following The Dunes in Palm Beach and Suki (formerly Rosa) in Mona Vale – may be their sharpest project yet.
Inside Marlowe, J.AR OFFICE Lets Brisbane’s Heritage Building Speak.
Jared Webb has a kind of creative genius that’s hard to define—the kind that weaves together unrelated genres, eras and genres into something greater than the sum of its parts. Something we now lazily abbreviate as ‘vibe’.
The site comes with significant cultural weight. Whale Beach SLSC was founded in 1937, with its current form dating mainly from the 1953 expansion. As the founders of Pattern write in their project statement:“Surf Life Saving Clubs, while undoubtedly a community staple in our surf culture, are not always synonymous with good design.”That tension was briefly the intensity of the match.
Merci Group secured a 20-year lease, which is longer than the usual 5+5 cycle, pushing the design discussion into a much longer term. The answer to the pattern depends on the metaphor of the wedding – it is appropriate, given the uniqueness of the wedding of the place. As they put it: “We wanted to live longer; so that the design response reflects the qualities of a good marriage. It’s timeless, but not boring. Standing for a long time, without losing its spark. “The next translation challenge was tone: an Italian theme within a distinctly Australian setting, delivered with enough freshness to escape the hustle and bustle of all the other Italian restaurants.
Upstairs, the 60-seat Moby restaurant takes its cues from Italian dolci. A glazed caramel roof meets custard-cream walls. Butter-soft skin breaks down the shade of a perfectly cooked cannoli in the room. Espresso-toned wood joinery brings depth, while polished stainless steel – including the bar’s USM shelves – cuts through the richness. The jammy red bar is always a fun hit, and the custom tiled floor combination scale, format, and marble varietal quietly nods to the beautifully patterned floors found throughout Italy.
Decorative lighting earns its keep. The most classic Italian characters – Lamp Elettra Murano Glass by Gramigna by Artemide on the host, Sciolari Brutalist Cubic Chandelier above the round dining tables, Murano Giogali Sconce by Angelo Mangiarotti by Vistosi that hangs on the back wall – mark the way of the redeeming nature. symptoms. Thonet’s Melnikov bentwood chair and Jean Prouvé’s 1942 Tabouret Haut from Vitra bring together a story of furniture in the form of“if it ain’t broke”The classicism the room deserves.
Helsinki’s Boreal Restaurant Channels Finnish Forests Using Timber, Art and Kombucha.
The place combines the forests of northern Finland, the open kitchen features wooden frames, walls full of Scandinavian art, and hanging lamps made of kombucha by the restaurant group.
Downstairs, the event space breathes cool air. Floor-to-ceiling curtains frame the stunning seascape, while newly installed flagstone floors carve out an alfresco space on the façade. The existing wooden floors were preserved and restored. The bar – clad in cork and wooden strings, with the edge of two beautiful bulls under the hand – is what the pattern lovingly describes as“well-dressed assistant”. Glossy cream colored tiles line the back bar, catching the light at certain angles the way the studio strikes.“silence in love”. The entire room is scaled to complement the celebration at its center.
Moby’s Whale Beach is the kind of work that proves my long-held belief: good design is for everyone, and it belongs everywhere. The kind of place you’d happily take your grandma to – or an uncle who ‘doesn’t really care about design’ but knows, instantly, when he’s somewhere special. Permanent restaurants are made of these materials.
Closing words in a pattern catch the breath better than any pronunciation:“We hope this project is an example of a design rooted in the many aspects of Australian culture, beyond the high-rises of the inner city,”Lily and Josh are thoughtful.“We believe that good design benefits everyone; surfers, brides, nonnas, all of us. We appreciate true and eternal love, and thoughtful, lasting design. Cin cin.”
Percent’anni indeed.
Alan Prekop Transforms a Bratislava Heritage Site into an Imaginary Italian Terrace.
This Bratislava restaurant isn’t trying to look Italian—it’s trying to feel Italian. Alan Prekop’s concept transforms the concept of space, turning the dining room into an imaginary terrace in the narrow streets of the historic Italian city.
[Images courtesy of Pattern Studio. Photography by Tom Ross.]