These Are Some of the Best Coffee Bar Designs in All of Australia

Home to some of the best coffee-based drink programs in the world, Australia also happens to be home some of the most intriguing spaces in the world in which to drink said coffee. And each year, the metaphorical bar for cafe design seems to be set higher.

A self-funded, not-for-profit operation backed by the Design Institute of Australia, the Australian Interior Design Awards is considered the country’s premier awards program for interior designers and their clients alike. The program covers a number of categories — including residential, installations and hotel — but we’re most focused on the hospitality category, which this year featured a healthy number of high-end, coffee-centric cafes alongside cocktail bars, restaurants and hotels.

Among the hundreds of entries, these were the cafe design projects that were recently honored representing the state of the art in functional and aesthetic interior design, including projects that opened in 2013 from Sensory Lab, Industry Beans and Single Origin Roasters. (Note: A number of cafes-by-day, bars-by-night projects also received honors, but we singled out only those where coffee is the primary focus. For a full list of winners, check out the awards homepage.)

Urban Coffee Farm & Brew Bar (Melbourne)

Design: Hassell, Photos: Bonnie Savage

From Hassell: The Urban Coffee Farm and Brew Bar was the centerpiece of the 2013 Melbourne Food and Wine Festival. Located on Queensbridge Square, an underused public space on the banks of the Yarra River, the tropical coffee farm was an installation created from shipping containers, timber pallets and plants.

Industry Beans (Fitzroy, Melbourne)

Design: Figureground Architecture, Photos: Luke Brice

From Figureground Architecture: The project is a café and coffee roastery in an existing factory shell. The design features a double height dining hall and economic materials such as pallets and plywood to provide warmth and texture within an industrial setting. An external structure utilises pivoting panels to playfully moderate the external conditions

Sensory Lab (Bondi Beach, Sydney)

Design: Bureau8, CIBI, Richie Brownfield. Photos: Chris Von Menge

From the designer: Sensory Lab in Bondi Sydney has been an exciting and innovative design experience interplaying on a balance of creative form and function with the platform of capital growth in an area where obtaining “Great Coffee” is only the beginning.

Single Origin Roasters (Surrey Hills, Sydney)

Design: Luchetti Krelle, Photos: Michael Wee

From Luchetti Krelle: The new design of Single Origin – a long time Surry Hills favourite for coffee aficionados, was to give the store a cleaner aesthetic to assist in their presentation of seriously food, but called for a fun element to reflect the quirky side of the business.