Taxi
Melbourne, Australia
Maddison Architects

Taxi takes dinners on sumptuous ride

© Rhiannon Slatter

For more photos click on 'photos & drawings' above. To see the people and products behind this project click on 'people & products.'

Located on the second floor of the Transport hotel complex, the Taxi restaurant was originally configured as an outdoor eatery protected from the weather by operable plastic blinds. Maddison Architects enclosed part of the space and created a new main dining room. Operable glass louvers around the room provide natural ventilation, while maintaining a visual and physical connection with the outdoor terrace.

Though it is meant to be perceived as an independent dining operation, the Taxi restaurant pursues the same transport theme as the rest of the hotel. Very little of the restaurant’s interior furnishings came from trade catalogues. Instead, the architect designed them and then had them custom built, specifying durable finishes so that the restaurant retains its lush appearance during intensive use.

In working with the transport theme, Maddison Architects developed a language of “flow,” recalling motion blur in photography. Components of the design slide through the space evoking a strong sense of movement and direction. For instance, the framework for all benching, countertops, and shelving is exposed to move sinuously above, below, and in a fluid counterpoint form to what it supports. Other functional items, such as refrigeration, are swept up in the design to appear as part of the object rather than as a separate entity. Materials, such as the orange colored rubber flooring and wall tiles, refer to Melbourne’s public transport infrastructure.

In the restaurant’s spatial organization, the chef takes center stage. An open kitchen establishes a visual connection to patrons in the bar and dining areas, and permits views back into the prep areas. Seating surrounds this central stage to facilitate interaction between the chef and diners.

Formal name of Project:
Taxi

Location:
Melbourne, Australia

Gross square footage:
5,059 sq. ft.

Owner:
Paul Mathis

Architect:
Maddison Architects Pty Ltd
98 Bank Street
South Melbourne, Victoria 3205
Australia
61-3-9696-3636 tel.
61-3-9690-4999 fax
www.maddisonarchitects.com.au