Jury comment

This project immediately appealed to the jury for the uniqueness of its site and the inherent challenge that comes with dealing with a heritage space. In awarding Reine and La Rue, the jury felt the resulting fitout inserted within the vast setting grounds the overall hospitality experience and achieves a sense of intimacy in an otherwise grand environment. Most notable is the impeccable detailing and the way it responds to the overwhelming scale of grandeur; only at the human scale and possibly when stationary does one truly understand the new datum they are immersed in. The shell is so ornate and traditional and the juxtaposition of the new insertion is sympathetic yet very contemporary. A lot of technical consideration has been given to heritage sensitivity so that no one element dominates and everything is harmonious.

Design statement

Akin Atelier has designed a 150-seat dining experience for Reine and La Rue. Set within the 308-square-metre heritage site of a neo-gothic cathedral in the Naarm/Melbourne CBD, the design intention was to create an experience of duality between the grand and the intimate.

Reine and La Rue is located in Naarm/Melbourne and is built on the land of the Bunurong Boon Wurrung peoples of the Eastern Kulin.

Project credits

Design practice — Akin Atelier
Project team — Stacey King, Simone Rego

The Award for Hospitality Design is supported by Space. The Australian Interior Design Awards are presented by the Design Institute of Australia and Artichoke. For more images of this project, see the Australian Interior Design Awards gallery.