All The Meat & Wine Co. stores take their inspiration from Africa, whilst staying grounded within each site’s unique Australian surroundings. However, the brand’s latest edition in Adelaide has taken this concept to fantastically beautiful and inspiring new heights.
The vision of Bradley Michael, founder and owner of the new store is manifest in the Adelaide store’s African-inspired design, which is centred around four “boma”, an Africa word that refers to a safe place traditionally constructed from woven twigs or branches that act as an enclosure for safety of people and their livestock.
Bringing people together again
Michael’s vision was expertly captured and designed by Sydney-based Callie van der Merwe from Design Partnership Australia. The four circular “bomas” enclosed by woven and knotted ropes all serve as private or semi-private dining rooms or areas where larger groups can gather and are interpreted differently for every Meat and Wine Co. store.
In the case of Adelaide, you can see them in the heart of the store, represented by beautiful knotted and hand-woven rope installations. Here, all the rope-work installations were conceptualised by the creative team based in Australia – Roberto Zambri, Calvin Janse van Vuuren and headed up by Callie van der Merwe.
Locally manufactured rope work
Callie comments, “We worked very closely with John-Henry and Mimi Roberts from Kent & Lane in Pretoria, South Africa to conclude both the development, the final execution and fabrication of all the components. Everything was then flown across to Australia and installed here in Adelaide by a local team of contractors and Design Partnership Australia.”
He says that they went to great lengths to curate a multitude of spaces that each represent different experiences to different people across different parts of the day. “As the store has a very limited shopfront, with most of the store removed from natural daylight, we made the conscious decision to turn this into an advantage by curating spaces where surprise and delight will transport the patrons to a rich tapestry of African Inspired Interior Architecture,” notes Callie.
Bright, red rich hand crated rope spirals are also used to separate the holding bar from the main dining area, but still allows dappled light to transfer between the spaces.
Dining experience worthy of a visit
“It is always great to work in these heritage structures as they have a patina and sense of history and tactility not found in modern structures. As humans, we are drawn to them because they are irreplaceable and unique,” Callie says.
There is a sense of nostalgia and belonging in a space touched by time and a rich tapestry of real stories. They all represent different challenges, but they also seem to bring out the best in us when we search for the solutions that would be most befitting and respectful.
“In Africa we have a concept widely known as the spirit of Ubuntu (giving and sharing) and this is something that we try extremely hard to capture in each store, but especially here in our latest design,” says Callie.
The menu and food offering talks to this idea of sharing. The way the menu is designed and the spaces within the restaurant echo this with many areas conducive for get-togethers and larger groupings.
Expats can look forward to dishes such as the boerewors sausage, with cooking techniques and the dining spaces reflective of Bradley Michael’s South African heritage. “When visiting Adelaide, we invite you to pop in for a uniquely South Africa experience,” concludes Bradley.
Our sincere thanks and appreciation to the team from Design Partnership Australia for sharing this inspirational project with us.
For more information on these and other projects visit: www.designpartnership.com.au.
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