Ku De Ta

SEMINYAK, BALI
INDONESIA

Our first Bali project and the reason why the studio was set up in the first place. The brief was to make operations more efficient in both design and function to an already busy bar that had been operating for one year. We redesigned the kitchens, back-of-house areas, and installed new point-of-sale systems to achieve a better flow of service before designing bars, furniture, and the outdoor settings. Ku De Ta went on to become one of the world’s best and most profitable beach club bars and for years threw a series of back-to-back, iconic, completely debauched, high season parties.

Lacalita

CANGGU, BALI
INDONESIA

For this Canggu bar we drew on local Mexican colours adding a simple wall of random everyday local images. We produced decorative security screens, woven ceilings, custom artificial flower chandeliers, and furniture throughout. Lacalita quickly became a busy local bar in Canggu known for its late-night parties, events, great food, and incredibly strong margaritas.

BILLI HO

SEMINYAK, BALI
INDONESIA

We went for high visual impact from the street on a modest budget using simple everyday Bali materials. We demolished the existing structure and rebuilt the building, leaving it open at both ends for ventilation with 4.5-meter ceilings. Two local artists hand-coloured 15,000 wooden roof shingles as a feature wall, with the opposing wall oversized flowers based on a girl's tattoo I saw whilst working on the scheme in a café. An angulating giant black bamboo ceiling with local crab pots for lights, large communal tables, and leather lounges to fill the 450M2 space.

Longrain

SURRY HILLS, SYDNEY
AUSTRALIA

Longrain was a restaurant I co-owned and my first design project in 1998, long before setting up the studio. I’d recently returned from New York at a time when the meatpacking district was just coming to life with its incredible warehouse restaurants and bars. I was determined to recreate this in my hometown of Sydney.

We found an old car mechanics workshop for rent in an 80-year-old heritage warehouse down a one-way, impossible-to-find street in the wrong part of town long before google maps did the hard work for you. Within weeks of opening the restaurant was doing maximum covers and became an institution in Sydney winning many food awards overseen by the hugely talented chef Martin Boetz. Longrain was a unique bar-restaurant scene at the time, opening up this inner-city area to many cafes, furniture shops, bars, and late-night lounges that followed.

Dumbo

UBUD, BALI
INDONESIA

An old DJ friend from Australia—someone I’ve known since my early 20’s—approached me to design a vegetarian pizza restaurant and café. He allowed us to play with materials and experiment with surfaces which as designers we always look for in clients. The program is divided over two floors with a cafe bar downstairs with detailed terrazzo floors and hand-glazed bricks by Gaya Ceramics, whom we work with often. Upstairs we built a new raw space structure with high-ceilings, much like a warehouse, as the main pizzeria. A great little bar to sit quietly and sketch.

The Queen’s Head

SOUTH JAKARTA
INDONESIA

The brief here was to turn an enormous, dark and seedy Chinese nightclub into a modern gastropub and bar in Jakarta. We imported original pub tiles from Australia and produced all features inside the space with woven curved plywood ceilings, wicker panels, lighting and furniture. It’s still one of my favorite places for a beer when in Jakarta.

Sentosa Spa

SEMINYAK, BALI
INDONESIA

An interesting and challenging project. We were approached to design the main club house, spa, and restaurant for a new residential development to initially serve as its display for sales and marketing office whilst also trading as a bar, restaurant, pool and gym during development with the goal of engaging the local market. 

We chose to wrap a simple concrete structure in an Erwin Hauer-inspired breeze block screen to allow light and air flow in but shield people of the view of the construction. An enjoyable early project for the studio that helped achieve 100% pre-sales for the development.

Mt Charlston

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA
UNITED STATES

A scheme for an exclusive spa, yoga, and wellness retreat located in the mountains 2 hours outside of Las Vegas. Upon our first site visit, we were blown away by how beautiful the mountains are in the desert and how extreme the temperatures are from summer to winter. We proposed a simple building using rammed earth for thermal massing to maintain warm temperatures as the area often gets 10+ feet of snow and roofs that collect all rain and snow melt stored below the building structures. It was one of those interesting projects that unfortunately did not see the light of day.

Jungle Fish

UBUD, BALI
INDONESIA

We were asked to design a series of feature elements and assist in the design of the pool day club for a good friend of ours from Ubud. In addition to the pool, we recycled bottles and turned them into custom glass tiles to mimic snakeskin, produced lotus pattern terracotta tiles, glazed terracotta bricks playing on traditional Balinese temple walls, concrete pressed floor tiles and designed a series of one-off furniture pieces.

Sababi island

FLORES, EAST NUSA TENGGARA
INDONESIA

Here we were asked to come up with a master plan for a 20-ha portion of a private island for clients pitching to Six Senses Resorts. A really lovely scheme and a joy going out to the site.

Lacasita

UBUD, BALI
INDONESIA

We created a wall of stained glass windows that drop coloured afternoon light throughout the space, painted blue fading pink walls, inlayed 20,000 pieces of blue glass into the floors (inspired by one of my hero’s Carlo Scarpa’s wonderful Olivetti building), turned the Eames bird into a flock of wooden bird lights roosting in the rafters, and designed 26 stained glass Mexican graphic lights. Satisfying project for terrific clients.

Jimmy Liks

SYDNEY
AUSTRALIA

A restaurant partnership that we co-designed with Mathew Darwon architects in a back street of Kings Cross Sydney before the area had been gentrified so still flowing with prostitution, drug dealers and Sydney's underworld—basically a colourful vibrant neighbourhood.

The site consisted of two low ceilings, impossibly narrow retail spaces that we expanded into one at the rear that once finished became a local favorite bar and restaurant's under the helm of Will Meyrick as head chef. Great bar, great food, great vibe.

Jenja

SEMINYAK, BALI
INDONESIA

A large basement nightclub, restaurant and lounge bar in the heart of Seminyak's bustling nightclub zone. Our brief was to design a soundproof space with interiors at a higher level than existing nightclubs in the area. Feature elements included a ceiling consisting of 60,000 pieces of interlocking teak battens, off cuts from the furniture industry that required no screws or nails. We also developed 1,500 M2 of colored hexagonal glass tiles made from recycled bottles. A sophisticated interior that became one of Bali's busiest late night clubs.

Niki’s Boat

GREECE

A friend bought a 1939 ice breaker used by the German’s in WW2 was turned into a luxury boat for family vacations. We happily agreed to design it as long as we were invited for summers in Greece.