Hassell has designed the art-filled interiors of the Di Stasio restaurant opposite Melbourne's treasury gardens.
Restaurant, art gallery, institution: a unique crossing of Australia and Italy represents the character of Di Stasio. Every surface is textural and hand-finished, every piece of joinery and furniture has been customised to create a unique restaurant experience.
Working in the existing shell of an impersonalised retail tenancy, all the building faults and mistakes were hidden behind plasterboard and aluminium cladding. Hassell stripped everything back to the bare structure, revealing the concrete cracks and patches and chose to celebrate them by polishing, smoothing and sealing them.
Sustainability was an inherent part of the design. Locally-sourced and crafted furniture was made specifically for the restaurant and built to last.
This project has been longlisted in the restaurant interior category of Dezeen Awards 2020.
