Brightly coloured stools in yellow, red and blue feature with Japanese pottery and a variety of light fittings combine to create an ambient dining environment reminiscent of the fun and animated feeling of a 'pabu' in Tokyo.

Set in a uniquely Japanese fit out by Architects EAT, with artwork by artist Hiroyasu Tsuri framing the walls along with soft timber, the design of Pabu is an interplay of architecture, interior design and art.

“The brief was to create an all day dining venue for lunch and dinner that could assimilate with the dining experience of Smith Street. The space had to contain some elements of Japanalia without the adaptation of traditional Japanese wooden craftsmanship.” explains Eid Goh, Architects Eat Director.

The space had was previously an old shophouse, and whilst some of the masonry work in the interior of the shop brought a sense of the past, overall it lacked character, and the new fit out approached it as a blank canvas.

“The site was a difficult space to work with. We had to demolish part of the old dilapidated fabric. The shopfront façade had a heritage overlay and hence limited us with opportunities to explore new ideas,” comments Goh.

EAT decided on a palette of mainly recycled timber, bricks and steel, creating a textured, urban feel that contrasts pleasantly with the more colourful and polished elements of furnishings and decoration.

Goh concludes, “This space is unique for us …. We plugged in a timber shack shaped in an abstract shape of a house with window openings serving as egress and servery of food into the kitchen. The window also allows the customers sitting on the bar to watch their food being prepared. This wass a fun project and it was an opportunity to explore scale and hierarchy within such a small confined volume. The main objective was achieving a balance with so much materiality which we have introduced into the project.”

Pabu
pabu.com.au

Architects EAT
eatas.com.au

Photography: Greg Elms & Kris Paulsen
gregelms.com
kristofferpaulsen.com